ADDRESSES 

AT    THE 

CELEBRATION   OF  THE 

Two  Hundred  and  Fiftieth  Anniversary 

OF   THE 

WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

BY   THE 

General  Assembly 

OF  THE 

Presbyterian  Church  in  the  U.S.A. 

EDITED    BY    THE 

REV.  WM.  HENRY   ROBERTS,  D.D.,  LL.D. 


^ 


philadelphia 

presbyterian  board  of  publication  and 

Sabbath-School  Work 

1898 


Copyright,  1898,  by  The  Trustees  of 

The  Presbyterian  Board  of  Publication  and  Sabbath- 
School  Work. 


(Tin  CbaiJtl  erf  Ijenrn  VII.,  JJUstminstcr  gibbei). 
TuioAssemblv  of  Divines  met  for  the  first  time  in  this  Chapel  on 
the  1st  Julv,  It;  Ki'aftrr  the  Prolocutor,  Dr.  AV.  Twisse,  had  preached 
to  a  great  crowd  including  the  members  of  Assembly  and  of  Parlia- 
ment. Their  lirst  work  was  to  revise  the  XXXIX  Aiticles.  '\ATien 
winter  came  on  the  Assembly  removed  to  Jerusalem  Chamber, 
where  they  continued  to  the  close. 


INTRODUCTION. 


This  volume  contains  the  addresses  delivered  at 
the  celebration  of  the  Two  Hundred  and  Fiftieth 
Anniversary  of  the  Work  of  the  Westminster  Assem- 
bly of  Divines,  held  under  the  auspices  of  the  Gen- 
eral Assembl}',  during  its  sessions  at  Winona  Lake, 
Indiana,  May,  1898.  The  proposal  to  observe  this 
Anniversary  was  made  to  the  General  Assembly  of 
1897,  by  an  overture  from  the  Presbytery  of  Balti- 
more. This  overture  was  referred  to  a  special  Com- 
mittee of  seven,  four  ministers  and  three  elders,  to 
report  to  the  sitting  Assembly.  The  members  of  the 
Committee  were:  Chairman,  Hon.  James  A.  Mount, 
Governor  of  Indiana,  with  ministers  I.  W.  Rendall, 
D.  D.,  G.  L.  Spining,  D.  D.,  W.  H.  Roberts,  D.  D., 
and  ruling  elders  Gen.  E.  C.  Mason  and  W.  H.  H. 
Smith,  Esq.  The  Committee  presented  the  following 
report  to  the  General  Assembly  which  was  unani- 
mously adopted : 

"  The  Special  Committee  appointed  by  this  Assembly 
to  report  upon  the  observance  of  the  Two  Hundred  and 
Fiftieth  Anniversary  of  the  Adoption  of  tlie  Westminster 
Standards  would  respectfully  rej)ort  as  follows: 

"  The  history  of  the  adoption   of  the   Westminster 

i 


4  INTRODUCTION. 

Standards  concisely  stated  is  as  follows :  The  Confession 
of  Faith  was  reported  to  the  English  Parliament  Decem- 
ber 4,  1646,  was  returned  with  the  proof-texts  to  Parlia- 
ment on  April  29,  1647,  and  adopted  June  3,  1648.  The 
General  Assembly  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  adopted 
the  Confession  August  27,  1647,  and  it  was  approved  by 
the  Parliament  of  the  kingdom  of  Scotland,  February  7, 
1649.  The  Larger  and  Shorter  Catechisms  were  reported 
by  the  Westminster  Assembly  to  the  English  Parliament 
October,  1647,  and  were  adopted  September  15,  1648. 
The  General  Assembly  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  adopted 
both  Catechisms  July  20,  1648,  and  the  Parliament  of 
the  kingdom  of  Scotland  February  7,  1649.  In  view  of 
the  varying  dates  of  adoption,  and  of  the  fact  that 
Church  and  State  in  both  England  and  Scotland  were 
united  at  the  time  of  the  formulation  of  the  Westminster 
Standards,  it  is  believed  that  the  year  1898  is  the  most 
appropriate  year  for  the  observance  of  the  Anniversary. 
The  Committee  tlierefore  recommend  the  adoption  of 
the  following  resolutions : 

"  1.  That  the  General  Assembly  observe  the  Two 
Hundred  and  Fiftieth  Anniversary  of  the  Adoption  of 
the  Westminster  Standards  on  the  second  Thursday  of 
the  sessions  of  the  General  Assembly  of  1898,  and  that 
a  Committee  of  nine,  of  which  the  officers  of  the  Assem- 
bly shall  be  members,  and  of  which  the  Moderator  shall 
be  the  Chairman,  shall  be  appointed  by  the  Moderator, 
to  make  due  preparations  for  the  observance  of  this 
great  historical  event. 

"  2.  That  this  Assembly  recommends  to  the  Synods, 
Presbyteries,  and  Churches  under  its  care,  to  observe  at 
such  times  as  may  be  convenient  to  them,  during  the 
year  1898,  the  anniversary  of  the  adoption  of  these  great 
Standards  of  faith  and  practice,  whicli  have  been  so  in- 
estimable a  blessing  alike  to  the  Churches  and  to  the 
world. 

"  In  behalf  of  the  Committee, 

"  James  A.  Mount,  Chairman.''^ 


INTRODUCTION.  5 

By  virtue  of  the  provisions  of  the  above  report,  the 
Committee  on  the  celebration  of  the  Two  Hundred 
and  Fiftieth  Anniversary  of  the  Adoption  of  the 
Westminster  Standards  was  appointed  as  follows : 
Ministers,  Sheldon  Jackson,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  William 
H.  Roberts,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  William  E.  Moore,  I).  D., 
LL.  D.,  S.  W.  Dana,  D.  D.,  and  Edward  H.  Robbins ; 
with  Ruling  Elders,  George  Junkin,  LL.D.,  William 
C.  Gray,  LL.  D.,  Hon.  Stanton  J.  Peelle,  and  Hon. 
Darwin  R.  James.  This  Committee  proceeded  to  the 
discharge  of  the  duty  laid  upon  it  by  the  selection  of 
a  list  of  topics  and  speakers,  and  by  the  appointment 
of  the  Chairman,  Dr.  Sheldon  Jackson,  and  the  Sec- 
retary, Dr.  Wm.  Henry  Roberts,  as  an  Executive 
Committee. 

The  Celebration  was  observed,  as  appointed,  on 
Thursday,  May  26, 1898.  Sessions  w^ere  held  morning, 
afternoon,  and  evening.  The  full  order  of  exercises 
was  as  follows: 

PROGRAMME  OF  THE   WESTMINSTER   CELEBRATION. 
9  O'CLOCK  A.  M. 

The  Rev.  Sheldon  Jackson,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  presiding. 

1.  Invocation — The  Chairman. 

2.  The    One    Hundredth    Psalm  —  Rev.    Joseph    B. 

Turner,  Dover,  Del. 

"  All  people  that  on  earth  do  dwell." 

3.  Reading  of  the  Scriptures — Rev.  Samuel  S.  Gilson, 

D.  D.,  Pittsburfrh,  Pa. 

Isaiah,  Chap.  Ixi. 


6  INTRODUCTION. 

4.  Prayer — Rev.  John  Hemphill,  D.  D.,  San  Francisco. 

Cal. 

5.  Reading  of  Letter  from  Dean  Bradley,  of  West- 

minster. 

6.  Psalm  XXIIL— Rev.  David  W.  Fahs,  D.  D.,  Inde- 

pendence, Iowa. 

"The  Lord's  my  Shepherd,  I'll  not  want." 

7.  Presentation — Dr.  W.  C.  Gray,  Chicago,  111. 

Portrait  of  Alexander  Henderson. 

8.  Address-  Rev.  Wm.  H.  Roberts,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  Phil- 

adelphia, Pa. 

"  Alexander  Henderson." 

9.  Address — Rev.  Samuel  J.  Niccolls,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  St. 

Louis,  Mo. 
"  The  Civil  and  Religious  Conditions  of  the  Times  of  the 
Westminster  Assembly." 

10.  Psalm  XL VI.— Rev.  William  Bryant,  Mount  Clem- 
ens, Mich. 

"  God  is  our  refuge  and  our  strength." 

n.  Address — Rev.  George  Norcross,  D.  D.,  Carlisle,  Pa. 
"  The  Story  of  the  Westminster  Assembly." 

12.  Address— Rev.  J.  D.  Moffat,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  Washing- 

ton, Pa. 
"  Fundamental  Doctrines  of  the  Westminster  Confession . 
and  Catechisms." 

13.  Psalm    CXXXIIL— Rev.   Samuel   Dunham,   Bing- 

hampton,  N.  Y. 

"  Behold  how  good  a  thing  it  is." 

14.  Prayer  and  Benediction — Rev.  Chas.  A.  Stoddard, 

D.  D.,  New  York,  N.  Y. 


INTRODUCTION. 


2.15  O'CLOCK  P.  M. 


Rev.  Wm.  E.  Moore,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  Columbus,  Ohio, 
presiding. 

1.  Invocation — The  Cliainnan. 

2.  Hymn  159  [Hymnal]— Rev.  J.  E.  Chapin,  D.  D., 

ISeenah,  Wis. 
"O,  could  I  speak  the  matchless  worth." 

3.  Reading  of  the  Scriptures — Rev.  Wm.  S.  Holt, 

D.  D.,  Portland,  Ore. 

Hebrews,  Chap.  i.  1-12. 

4.  Prayer — Rev.  John  Dixon,  D.  D.,  Trenton,  N.  J. 

5.  Address — Rev.  Robert   F.  Coyle,  D.  D.,  Oakland, 

Cal. 
"The  Westminster  Polity  and  Worship." 

6.  Address— Rev.  Wallace  RadclifFe,  D.  D.,  Moderator, 

Washington,  D.  C. 
"  The  Men  and  Work  of  the  Westminster  Assembly." 

7.  Hymn  662  [Hymnal]— Rev.  W.  A.  Hunter,  D.  D., 

Bloomington,  HI. 

"  0  God,  beneath  Thy  guiding  hand." 

8.  Address — Rev.  Benjamin  L.  Agnew,  D.  D.,  Philadel- 

pliia,  Pa. 
"  The  American  Presbyterian  Churches  and  the  Adopt- 
ing Acts." 

9.  Address — Gen.  James  A.  Beaver,  Bellefonte,  Pa. 

"The  Presbyterian  Churches  and  the  People." 

10.  Hymn    665    [Hymnal]— Rev.    William    A.    Major, 

Seattle,  Wash. 

"  My  country,  'tis  of  thee." 

11.  Prayer  and  Benediction — Rev.  James  T.  Lapsley, 

D.  D.,  Danville,  Ky. 


8  INTRODUCTION. 

7.15  O'CLOCK  P.  M. 

Gov.  James  A.  Mount,  Indianapolis,  Ind.,  presiding. 

1.  InvocatioiN — The  Chairman. 

2.  Hymn  347  [Hymnal]— Rev.  John  A.  Silsby,  China. 

"  Stand  up,  stand  up  for  Jesus." 

3.  Reading  of  the  Scriptures — Rev.  George   Carson, 

Charlotte,  N.  C. 

Revelation,  Chap.  xxii.  1-17. 

4.  Prayer — Rev.  Joseph  S.  Malone,  INIeadville,  Pa. 

5.  Address — Gen.  John  Eaton,  Washington,  D.  C. 

"  The  Presbyterian  Churches  and  Education." 

6.  Address — Rev.  N.  D.  Hillis,  D.  D.,  Chicago,  HI. 

"  Presbyterianism  and  its  Influence  upon  Society 
through  its  Emphasis  upon  Childhood  and 
Youth." 

7.  Hymn  667  [Hymnal] — Rev.  Theodore  Bracken,  Em- 

poria, Kan. 

"  God  of  our  fathers,  whose  almighty  hand." 

8.  Address — Rev.  George  L.  Spining,  D.  D.,  Orange, 

N.J. 

"  The  Presbyterian  Churches  and  Home  Missions." 

9.  Address — Mr.  Robert  E.  Speer,  Secretary  Board  of 

Foreign  Missions,  New  York. 
"The  Presbyterian  Churches  and  Foreign  Missions." 

10.  Hymn  390  [Hymnal]— Rev.  J.  C.  R.  Ewing,  D.  D., 

India. 

"  Jesus  shall  reign  where'er  the  sun." 

11.  Prayer  and  Benediction — Rev.  Joseph  G.  Reaser, 

D.  D.,  Webb  City,  Mo. 

In  connection  with  the  Celebration  a  gavel  was 
used,  which  was  made  of  Westminster  Abbey  oak. 
The  gavel  block  consisted  of  a  section  of  a  small 


INTRODUCTION.  9 

pillar  of  Purbeck  marble  removed  from  Westminster 
Abbey  during  repairs,  and  was  set  in  American  oak. 
The  Westminster  specimens  were  obtained  from  Dean 
Bradley,  of  Westminster  Abbey,  through  the  kindness 
of  William  Caruthers,  LL.  D.,  of  London,  England, 
and  at  the  request  of  the  Rev.  Henry  C.  McCook, 
D.  D.,  Sc.  D.,  pastor  of  the  Tabernacle  Presbyterian 
Church,  Philadelphia,  Pa.  Dr.  McCook  had  the 
gavel  made  and  the  marble  mounted.  The  pro- 
gramme had  upon  it  engravings  representing  the 
Seal  for  the  Approbation  of  Ministers  of  the  West- 
minster Assembly;  the  Chapel  of  Henry  VH.  and 
the  Jerusalem  Chamber,  Westminster  Abbey ;  the 
Seal  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  the  U.  S.  A. ;  the  likenesses  of  Dr.  William 
Twisse,  prolocutor  of  the  Westminster  Assembly, 
Alexander  Henderson,  author  of  the  Solemn  League 
and  Covenant,  and  Francis  Rous,  author  of  Rous's 
Version  of  the  Psalms.  The  Psalms  and  "  Tones " 
used  at  the  morning  session  were  taken  from  Living- 
stone's Psalter  of  lG3o,  and  were  arranged  for  use  by 
Mr.  Henry  C.  Wilt,  the  organist  of  the  Tabernacle 
Church,  Philadelphia.  The  letter  of  Dean  Bradley, 
above  referred  to,  is  as  follows : 

"Deanery,  Westminster  Abbey, 

"  May  5,  1898. 

"  The  Rev.  Henry  C.  McCook,  D.  D. 

"  3Iy  Dear  Sir :  At  the  request  of  Mr.  Caruthers, 
F.  R.  S.,  late  keeper  of  the  Botanical  Department  of 


10  INTRODUCTION. 

the  British  Museum,  I  have  placed  at  your  disposal, 
for  the  use  of  the  Moderator  of  the  General  Assembly 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  the  United  States  of 
America,  a  piece  of  oak  and  a  fragment  of  Purbeck 
marble. 

"  Each  of  these  formed  part  of  the  fabric  of  the 
church  of  the  Abbey  of  Westminster,  which  was 
erected  by  King  Henry  III.  in  the  thirteenth  century, 
and  which  took  the  place  of  that  built  by  King 
Edward  the  Confessor,  who  was  buried  there  within 
less  than  a  year  of  the  Norman  Conquest. 

"  It  was  within  this  church  that,  during  the  tempo- 
rary suppression  of  the  Episcopal  Church  of  England, 
there  was  held  on  June  1,  1643,  a  solemn  service, 
attended  by  the  Assembly  appointed  by  Parliament, 
*  to  establish  a  new  platform  of  worship  and  discipline 
for  this  nation  for  all  time  to  come.'  The  preacher 
was  Dr.  Twisse  of  Newbury,  the  Prolocutor  of  that 
Assembly. 

"  The  Assembly  met  for  some  time  in  the  chapel 
called  that  of  Henry  VII.,  the  king  who  erected  it  in 
the  place  of  the  older  '  Lady  Chapel,'  and  where  lie 
side  by  side  his  own  remains  and  those  of  his  Yorkist 
queen  and  of  James  I.,  the  first  of  our  Stuart  sover- 
eigns. 

"As  the  autumn  came  on,  they  adjourned  to  the 
Jerusalem  Chamber,  built  by  Abbot  Litlington  in 
the  reign  of  King  Richard  II.  as  an  adjunct  or  with- 
drawing room  to  the  Abbott's  Refectory  or  dining- 


INTR  OD  UCTION.  1 1 

hall,  built  shortly  before  by  the  same  Abbot,  and 
warmed  by  what  was  then  a  rare  luxury,  a  '  sea-coal 
fire-place.' 

"  Here  the  Assembly  continued  their  meetings  for 
between  five  and  six  years,  and  here,  as  I  need  hardly 
remind  you,  were  framed  '  the  important  documents,' 
The  Westminster  Confession  and  the  Larger  and 
Shorter  Catechisms. 

"  I  need  hardly  say  that  I  have  gladly  placed  at 
your  disposal  these  two  small  fragments  of  English 
oak  and  English  marble,  which  once  formed  part  of 
this  historic  church,  in  which  all  who  share  our  race 
and  speak  our  language,  not  least  of  all,  as  I  have 
reason  to  know,  our  kinsmen  and  fellow  Christians 
of  the  United  States,  feel  so  keen  an  interest. 
"  Believe  me  to  be, 

"  Very  truly  yours, 
"  C.  G.  Bradley, 

"  Dean  of  Westminster." 

The  Celebration  was  highly  successful,  the  audiences 
at  all  the  sessions  filling  the  large  and  well-appointed 
auditorium  at  Winona  Lake  to  its  full  capacity.  The 
character  of  the  addresses,  the  reception  accorded 
them,  as  well  as  the  names  of  the  speakers,  is  cumu- 
lative proof  of  the  undivided  loyalty  of  the  Church 
to  its  standards  of  faith  and  practice.  After  the  Cele- 
bration, the  Assembly  adopted  the  following  report 
of  the  Committee  on  the  Anniversary : 


1 2  INTR  OD IJCTION. 

"  The  Committee  on  the  Two  Hundred  and  Fiftieth 
Anniversary  of  the  Adoption  of  the  Westminster  Stand- 
ards respectfully  presents  a  Report  to  the  Assembly, 
recommending  the  passage  of  the  following  resolutions : 

"  Resolved,  1.  That  the  thanks  of  the  Assembly  are 
hereby  cordially  extended  to  the  speakers  at  the  Celebra- 
tion, and  especially  for  their  admirable  presentation  of 
the  great  subjects  dealt  with  by  them  on  the  occasion. 

^Resolved,  2.  Tiiat  the  thanks  of  the  Assembly  be  ex- 
tended to  the  Rev.  Henry  C.  McCook,  D.  D.,  Sc.  D.,  of 
Philadelphia,  for  his  admirable  collection  of  Westmin- 
steriana,  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  Assembly  in  the 
Westminster  Exhibit. 

"  Resolved,  3.  That  the  thanks  of  the  Assembly  be  ex- 
tended to  the  'Winona  Assembly  and  Summer  School' 
for  the  use  of  the  building  in  which  the  Westminster 
Exhibit  was  placed  on  public  view. 

"  Resolved,  4.  That  the  thanks  of  the  Assembly  are 
hereby  tendered  to  Dr.  F.  L.  jNIarshall,  musical  director, 
to  Miss  Marshall,  to  the  choir  of  the  First  Presbvterian 
Church  of  Ft.  Wayne,  Ind.,  and  to  Mr.  E.  F.  Yarnell 
and  daughter  for  their  highly  appreciated  musical  ser- 
vices in  connection  with  the  Celebration. 

"  Resolved,  5.  That  the  Stated  Clerk  of  the  Assembly 
be  authorized  to  pay  all  the  expenses  connected  with 
the  Westminster  Celebration,  including  a  sum  not  ex- 
ceeding $100  for  the  expenses  of  the  Westminster  Ex- 
hibit, and  that  the  Chairman  of  the  Committee,  with 
the  Stated  Clerk,  be  the  Committee  of  Audit. 

"  Resolved,  6.  That  the  speeches  delivered  at  the  Cele- 
bration, together  with  the  historical  sermon,  be  published 
in  a  volume  with  an  appropriate  preface,  under  the 
editorship  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Committee,  the  Rev. 
William  H.  Roberts,  D.  D.,  the  volume  to  be  published 
by  and  at  the  expense  of  the  Board  of  Publication  and 
Sabbatli-school  Work. 

"  Resolved,  7.  That  the  portrait  of  Alexander  Hender- 
son, presented  to  the  Assembly  by  Dr.  W.  C.  Gray  and 


INTRODUCTION.  13 

others,  be  accepted  with  cordial  thanks,  and  that  it  be 
deposited  for  the  present  with  the  Presbyterian  Histori- 
cal Society. 

"  Respectfully  submitted, 

"  Sheldon  Jackson,  Chairman.''^ 

The  Assembly  also  adopted  the  following  resolution 
of 'thanks: 

''Resolved,  That  the  thanks  of  the  General  Assembly 
be  extended  to  the  Committee  on  the  Westminster  Cele- 
bration for  their  efHcient  and  admirable  services." 

It  is  proper  here  to  refer  to  the  excellent  and  in- 
structive collection  of  historical  mementoes  of  Pres- 
byterian leaders,  churches,  institutions,  and  agencies, 
which  was  brought  together  in  one  of  the  buildings 
at  Winona  Lake,  Ind.,  by  a  Committee,  of  which  the 
Rev.  R.  V.  Hunter,  D.  D.,  w^as  chairman.  The  admir- 
able collection  of  Westminsteriana,  belonging  to  the 
Rev.  H.  C.  McCook,  D.  D.,  Sc.  D.,  was  a  part  of  this 
Exhibit.  The  thanks  of  the  Assembly  were  tendered 
both  to  Dr.  Hunter  and  Dr.  McCook,  and  also  to  the 
Synods,  Presbyteries,  etc.,  that  co-operated  in  the 
Exhibit. 

In  addition  to  the  addresses  delivered  at  the  West- 
minster Celebration,  the  Assembly  directed  that  the 
opening  sermon  delivered  by  the  retiring  Moderator, 
Rev.  Sheldon  Jackson,  D.  D.,  should  be  made  a  part 
of  the  volume.  Further,  at  the  request  of  all  tlie 
Commissioners  present  at  Winona  Lake,  Ind.,  on  Sun- 


14  INTRODUCTION. 

day,  May  29,  the  discourse  delivered  by  the  editor  of 
this  volume,  on  "  The  Westminster  Standards  and  the 
Formation  of  the  American  Republic,"  has  been  in- 
cluded. 

Persons  desiring  historical  information,  in  addition 
to  that  given  in  this  volume,  concerning  the  West- 
minster Assembly  of  Divines,  are  referred  to  Mitchell's 
Westminster  Assembly :  its  History  and  Standards,  the 
most  readable  and  popular  book  yet  published  on 
the  subject.  This  work  has  been  issued  in  an  ad- 
mirable form  by  the  Presbyterian  Board  of  Publica- 
tion and  S.  S.  Work,  whose  cordial  cooperation  in  the 
publication  of  these  Anniversary  Addresses  is  heartily 
acknowledged.  Those  who  desire  a  detailed  account 
of  the  Westminster  Assembly's  proceedings  should 
consult  the  Mimdes  of  the  Sessions  of  the  Westminster 
Assembly  of  Dimncs,  edited  by  Mitchell  and  Struthers; 
Lightfoot's  Journal  of  the  Proceedings  of  the  Assembly 
of  Divines;  Gillespie's  Notes  of  the  Debates  and  Pro- 
ceedings of  the  Assembly  of  Divines  at  Westminster;  and 
Baillie's  Letters  and  Journals. 

Wm.  Henry  Roberts.   . 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

I.    Introduction      3 

By  the  Editob. 

II.    Opening  Sermon 17 

By  the  Eev.  Sheldon  Jackson,  D.  D.,  LL.  D. 

III.  Presentation  of  Portrait  of  Alex- 

ander Henderson 37 

By  Wm.  C.  Gray,  LL.  D. 

IV.  Alexander  Henderson 43 

By  the  Rev.  Wm.  Henry  Roberts,  D.  D.,  LL.  D. 

V.    The  Civil  and  Religious  Conditions 
OF  THE  Times  of  the  Westminster 

Assembly 57 

By  the  Rev.  Samuel  J.  Niccolls,  D.  D.,  LL.  D. 

VI.    The  Story  of  the  Westminster  As- 
sembly         79 

By  the  Rev.  Geo.  Norcboss,  D.  D. 

VII.  The  Fundamental  Doctrines  of  the 
Westminster  Confession  and  Cate- 
chisms      109 

By  the  Rev.  James  D.  Moffat,  D.  D.,  LL.  D. 

VIII.    The  Westminster  Polity  and    Wor- 
ship   129 

By  the  Rev.  Robert  F.  Coyle,  D.  D. 

15 


16  CONTENTS. 

IX.    The  Westminster  Assembly,  the  Men 

AND  THEIR  WoRK 147 

By  the  Eev.  Wallace  Eadcliffe,  D.  D. 

X.    The  American    Presbyterian  Church 

AND  THE  Adopting  Acts 163 

By  the  Rev.  Benjamin  L.  Agnew,  D.  D. 

XI.    The  Presbyterian  Churches  and  the 

People 191 

By  Gen.  James  A.  Beaver,  LL.D. 

XII.    The  Presbyterian  Churches  and  Edu- 
cation     211 

By  Gen.  John  Eaton,  LL.D. 

XIII.  Presbyterianism    and    its    Influence 

UPON  Society  through  its  Emphasis 

UPON  Childhood  and  Youth 249 

By  the  Eev.  Newell  D.  Hillis,  D.  D. 

XIV.  The  Presbyterian  Churches  and  Home 

Missions 269 

By  the  Rev.  George  L.  Spining,  D.  D. 

XV.    The  Presbyterian  Churches  and  For- 
eign Missions 297 

By  Mr.  Robert  E.  Speer. 

XVI.  The  Westminster  Standards  and  the 
Formation  of  the  American  Repub- 
lic   323 

By  the  Rev.  Wm.  Henry  Egberts,  D.  D.,  LL.  D. 


THE  SEKMON   AT  THE  OPENING  OF 
THE   ASSEMBLY. 

BY   THE 

Rev.  SHELDON  JACKSON,  D.  D.,  LL.  D., 
Moderator. 


THE  SERMON   AT  THE  OPENING  OF  THE 
ASSEMBLY. 

BY   THK 

Kev.  SHELDON  JACKSON,   D.  D.,  LL.  D., 

Moderator. 


"Begin  to  possess,  tliat  thou  mayest  inherit  his  land." — Deut. 
2:  31. 

It  is  not  witlioiit  significance  that  America  should 
have  remained  liidden  from  the  civilized  world  until 
the  close  of  the  15th  century.  For  ages  history  had 
recorded  in  brick  and  stone,  on  papyrus  and  parch- 
ment, the  rise  and  growth,  the  decay  and  fall  of  na- 
tions in  Asia,  Africa,  and  Europe;  but  the  story  of 
America  remained  a  blank ;  its  very  existence  un- 
known. 

The  Church  of  God  which  in  patriarchal  da^'s  was 
established  in  the  family  of  Abraham,  and  during 
the  Old  Testament  dispensation  was  confined  to  his 
seed,  with  the  coming  of  Christ  was  thrown  open  to 
"  every  kindred  and  tongue  and  peoi)le  and  nation." 
At  first  creeping  along  the  shore  of  the  Mediterranean 
to  Rome,  it  spread  over  all  Europe.  But  everywhere 
it  was  complicated  with  and  trnmmeled  by  the  State, 
and  occasionally  used  by  the  State  for  the  oppression 

19 


20  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

of  the  people.  Even  the  great  Reformation  of  the 
16tli  century  was  more  or  less  political  in  its  aims 
and  methods.  Heathen  or  Christian,  there  had 
alwa^'s  been  in  the  religions  of  the  world  a  connec- 
tion between  C'hurch  and  State.  The  custom  of  ages 
had  so  intrenched  itself  in  men's  minds  that  it  did 
not  occur  to  them  there  could  be  a  better  way.  And 
yet  while  this  connection  existed  it  was  impossible 
for  the  Church  to  secure  an  environment  suitable  to 
its  highest  development;  an  environment  that  would 
give  it  the  widest  freedom  and  make  possible  a  "  free 
Church  in  a  free  State."  To  secure  this  it  was  neces- 
sary to  get  out  from  under  the  influence  of  the  past ; 
to  find  a  new  land,  where  ancient  customs  were  not 
intrenched  ;  where  entangling  alliances  with  the  State 
could  be  thrown  off — a  new  land,  where  the  Church 
could  go  back  to  the  Spirit  of  Christ  and  start  anew 
in  the  conquest  of  the  world.  Such  a  land  had  God 
reserved  for  such  a  time.  He  had  also  prepared  a 
Church  to  take  possession  of  it. 

Even  before  the  Reformation  God  was  preparing 
the  way  for  it.  The  new  learning  passed  over  Europe 
like  the  breath  of  God.  The  discovery  of  printing  had 
so  multiplied  Bibles,  that  increasing  numbers  could 
have  and  study  the  Word  of  God  in  their  own  homes. 
This  developed  intelligent  and  independent  thinkers. 
Then  came  the  Reformation  (1517)  to  quicken  the 
seed,  warm  the  heart,  and  convert  the  soul ;  to  pre- 
pare a  special  people  for  a  new  land  and  a  new  de- 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  21 

parture  in  Church  life.  Then  as  persecutions  arose 
that  the  early  Church  might  be  scattered  abroad 
preaching  the  Word,  so  there  arose  the  persecutions 
of  Charles  IX.  and  Louis  XIV.  in  France,  Philip  11. 
and  his  cruel  agent  the  Duke  of  Alva  in  Holland, 
Henry  VIII.  and  bloody  Mary  in  England,  and  later 
Charles  I.  and  Archbishop  Laud  in  England,  Scotland, 
and  Ireland,  to  prepare  and  make  ready  the  people 
■whom  God  had  chosen  to  abandon  home  and  country 
and  journey  to  a  new  land,  where  they  could  worship 
God  with  none  to  molest  or  make  them  afraid.  Con- 
temporaneous with  these  movements  was  the  dis- 
covery of  Columbus.  There  beyond  the  "  pillars  of 
Hercules,"  beyond  the  "Ultima  Thule"  of  history, 
beyond  even  the  "  Fortunate  Islands  "  of  antiquity, 
across  the  unknown  waters,  stood  the  land  which  God 
had  hidden  for  ages,  waiting  for  the  fulness  of  time 
"when  a  people  should  be  especially  prepared  to 
occupy  it. 

CHRISTIAN    FOUNDATIONS. 

Then  was  born  a  nation  in  righteousness.  The 
nations  of  Europe  and  Asia ;  the  nations  of  antiquity 
(except  Israel),  M'ere  born  in  war  and  conquest,  in 
blood  and  ambition ;  but  these  United  States  were 
founded  by  those  who  sought  first  and  foremost 
a  land  where  they  could  worship  God  untrammeled 
by  kings  and  governments.  They  came  not  for  con- 
quest, but  for  civil  and  religious  liberty.     As  the  first 


22  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

official  act  of  Columbus  was  the  erection  of  the  cross 
of  Christ  upon  the  new  world,  so  the  first  voices 
heard  by  the  native  races  on  the  shores  of  America 
were  those  of  prayer  and  praise. 

"  And  the  sounding  aisles  of  the  dim  woods  rang 
With  the  anthems  of  the  free." 

It  is  of  interest  to  note  in  this  connection  that  the 
first  Protestant  worship  on  the  shores  of  America 
was  by  the  French  Presbyterians,  the  Huguenots,  in 
1562,  fifty-eight  years  before  the  landing  of  the  May- 
flower at  Plymouth  Rock.  Many  and  divers  were  the 
nationalities  that  sought  homes  in  this  new  land. 
But  those  who  principally  moulded  and  shaped  affairs 
— the  pilgrims  of  destiny  and  builders  of  empire, 
who  laid  foundations  broad  and  deep  for  Christ  and 
His  Church,  foundations  which  would  support  the 
temple  of  freedom,  and  through  all  coming  time 
bless  the  generations — the  men  above  all  others,  in 
that  epoch-making  age,  who,  gathering  up  the  lessons 
of  the  past,  worked  out  plans,  and  laid  enduring 
foundations  for  civil  and  religious  liberty,  were  the 
Scotch,  the  Hollanders,  the  Huguenots,  and  the  Puri- 
tans. 

At  the  breaking  out  of  the  Revolutionary  War  the 
Scotch  and  Scotch-Irish  were  the  most  numerous  race 
in  the  colonies,  numbering  about  900,000,  or  nearly 
one-third  of  the  entire  population,  while  the  Puritans 
numbered  600,000,  and  the  Cavaliers,  400,000.  It  is 
estimated  there  were  60,000  of  them  in  New  England 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  23 

alone ;  and  at  the  time  they  were  the  dominant  in- 
fluence in  the  United  States. 

For  centuries  in  Scotland  and  Ireland  they  had  stood 
as  firm  as  their  eternal  liills  against  kingcraft  and 
priestcraft ;  against  absolutism  in  State  and  Church. 
They  endured  the  rack  and  thumbscrew  in  the  old 
castle  at  Edinburgh  ;  they  were  hunted  like  wild  beasts 
on  their  mountains  ;  mutilated  and  branded  in  their 
persons,  butchered,  drowned  and  burned  at  the  stake ; 
but  in  this  fiery  furnace  of  affliction  they  were  learn- 
ing lessons  in  political  economy  that  gave  Great 
Britain  the  habeas  corpus  act,  a  free  parliament, 
and  constitutional  liberty.  They  were  in  training  to 
found  a  free  republic.  And  when  the  time  came  to 
establish  the  foundation  of  that  republic  with  the 
sword,  no  wonder  that  twelve  of  the  twenty-four 
major-generals  of  the  American  arni}^,  and  one-half 
of  the  troops  should  have  been  Scotch  and  Scotch- 
Irish. 

True  yoke-fellows  with  them  were  the  Hollanders, 
whose  sturdy  faith  had  been  wrought  out  and  man- 
hood developed  during  those  desperate  years  when 
they  stood  as  a  wall  between  Protestantism  and  its 
overthrow.  A  race  Avho  could  conquer  the  sea  and 
successfully  withstand  the  onslaught  of  a  united 
papal  Europe,  was  surely  good  material  for  the 
foundation  stones  in  free  America. 

Then  there  were  the  Huguenots,  refined  and  purified 
and   made  meet  for  their  high   calling,  to   help   in 


24  WESTMINSTER   ASSEMBLY 

laying  the  foundations  of  the  Church  in  this  goodly 
land.  By  their  baptism  of  suffering,  in  those  days 
when  the  streets  of  Paris  ran  red  with  the  blood  of 
her  best  citizens,  they  had  been  made  the  apostles  of 
God  to  other  lands.  The  Huguenots  who  came  to 
America  were  the  flower  of  France,  from  the  loss  of 
whom  she  did  not  recover  for  a  century.  And  brothers 
with  the  Huguenots  and  Hollanders  and  Scotch  were 
the  Puritans,  who,  driven  from  their  homes  by  the 
persecutions  of  Henry  VHI.,  Queen  Mary,  and  the 
Stuarts,  had  sought  and  found  shelter  in  Holland, 
Germany  and  Switzerland,  where  they  sat  at  the  feet  of 
the  ablest  scholars  and  most  advanced  thinkers  of 
their  age.  There  they  learned  those  lessons  and 
received  that  special  training  which  prepared  them 
for  their  great  mission  in  America. 

Thus  God  sifted  out  of  the  three  kingdoms  of  Great 
Britain,  and  out  of  Holland  and  France,  the  choicest 
materials  for  the  new  republic  on  the  shores  of  Amer- 
ica ;  and  through  them  brought  into  American  life 
and  character  the  best  and  highest  results  of  the  past. 

It  is  also  worthy  of  note  that  of  these  four  promi- 
nent factors  in  our  early  American  history,  three — the 
Hollanders,  Huguenots  and  Scotch  and  Scotch-Irish 
— were  Presbyterians.  The  fourth,  the  Pilgrim 
Fathers,  held  in  common  with  Presbyterians  the 
Calvinistic  creed,  and  many  of  their  churches  had 
ruling  elders  over  them,  of  whom  elder  Brewster 
is  an  illustrious  example.     These  and  kindred  spirits 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  25 

from  other  lands,  only  in  smaller  numbers,  were 
those  whom  God  in  his  providence  had  called  out 
from  the  ripest  civilizations  of  Europe ;  men  of 
the  highest  ability,  learning,  character  and  relig- 
ious consecration.  And  to  whatever  causes  the  his- 
torian or  philosopher  may  ascribe  the  wonderful 
migration  at  an  early  date  of  Christian  people  to 
America,  we  must  see  in  it  over  and  above  all,  the  hand 
of  God.  It  was  his  almighty  hand  that  brought  to 
this  land  the  brave  old  Hollanders,  the  Scotch  Pres- 
byterians, the  English  Dissenters,  the  Irish  Calvinists, 
the  quiet  Quakers,  the  glorious  Huguenots,  the  hymn- 
loving  Lutherans — the  chosen  ones  of  God  called  out 
from  all  lands  to  take  possession  of  and  develop  this 
land  for  Christ.  As  the  angels  looked  down  on  that 
historic  age  they  heard 

"  The  tread  of  pioneers 
Of  nations  yet  to  be — 
The  first  low  wash  of  waves 

Where  soon  sliall  roll  a  human  sea." 

Gaining  a  foothold  upon  the  Atlantic  seaboard, 
they  gradually  extended  their  settlements  into  the 
interior,  and  as  they  advanced  the  wild  forests,  and 
still  wilder  beasts  and  men,  gave  way  before  them. 
They  overflowed  into  central  and  western  New 
York  and  the  Western  Reserve :  over  the  Alleghenies 
into  the  fertile  valley  of  the  Oliio ;  across  the  Blue 
Ridge  into  Tennessee  and  Kentuck}' ;  across  the  prai- 
ries of  Indiana  and  Illinois  into  Michigan  and  Wis- 


2G  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

consin ;  and  wherever  they  went  the  log  church  and 
the  log  school-house  were  erected  among  the  rude 
log  homes  of  the  settlers. 

As  the  churches  become  strengthened,  God,  by 
means  of  the  Louisiana  purchase  (1803),  took  that 
mighty  empire  extending  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico, 
diagonally  across  the  continent  two  thousand  miles 
to  Puget  Sound,  out  from  under  French  Romanism, 
and  called  upon  this  Church  to  "  enter  and  possess." 
Hitherto  emigration  had  been  homogeneous ;  a 
number  of  families  going  from  one  section  to  an- 
other, and  taking  with  tliem  their  minister  and 
schoolmaster.  But  with  the  doubling  of  our  area 
at  one  bound  the  Church  felt  that  former  methods 
were  inadequate  for  such  an  emergency.  In  antici- 
pation of  this  increase  of  territory  the  General 
Assembly  of  1802  created  a  Standing  Committee 
of  Missions,  which  in  181G  was  made  The  Board  of 
Missions. 

Scarce  had  the  Church  time  to  grasp  the  magnitude 
of  the  added  work  before  the  annexation  of  Texas 
and  the  close  of  the  Mexican  War,  took  out  from  the 
blighting  influence  of  Spanish  Catholicism  and  gave 
to  Protestant  control,  a  region  over  45,000  square 
miles  larger  than  the  thirteen  States.  Once  securely 
under  the  American  flag  the  marvelous  stores  of  gold 
and  silver  in  California,  Nevada,  Utah,  Montana,  and 
Colorado  were  uncovered  to  an  astonished  world. 
Then  in  1867  Alaska,  whose  western   limit   places 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  27 

San  Francisco  east  of  the  center  of  the  United  States, 
was  taken  from  the  control  of  Greek  Cathohcism  and 
laid  upon  the  American  Church,  and  lo !  our  "  Ice- 
berg "  astonishes  the  world  by  the  extent  and  rich- 
ness of  its  gold  deposits,  and  to-day  representatives 
from  many  lands  are  flocking  into  Alaska  by  the 
tens  of  thousands. 

This  is  the  continent  that  God  had  reserved  for  his 
Church.  A  land  magnificent  in  its  extent  and  re- 
sources, and  in  its  wide  range  of  climate  and  produc- 
tions; with  skies  as  brilliant  as  those  of  Italy;  winter 
resorts  the  peer  of  Cannes,  the  Riviera  and  Mentone ; 
waters  as  healing  as  those  of  Carlsbad  and  Baden- 
Baden  ;  air  as  health-giving  as  Algiers  and  Egypt ; 
plains  as  productive  of  breadstufFs  as  the  valley  of 
the  Nile  and  the  land  of  Goshen  in  their  palmiest 
days ;  mines  as  rich  as  ancient  Golconda  and  Ophir ;  a 
land  whose  possibilities  are  so  great  that  the  wild- 
est visionary  has  not  begun  to  comprehend  the  out- 
come. 

"  A  glorious  land. 

With  broad  arms  stretched  from  shore  to  shore ; 
The  proud  Pacific  chafes  her  strand  ; 
She  hears  the  loud  Atlantic's  roar." 

And  this  is  the  land  that  God  has  given  his 
Church  to  possess — to  take  and  to  hold  as  a  base  of 
operations  for  the  conquest  of  the  world.  Hear  his 
voice  saying  to  the  American  Churches  :  "  I  give  you 
from  ocean  to  ocean,  from    tropical  gulf  to   frozen 


28  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

north.  '  Begin  to  possess,  that  thou  mayest  inherit 
his  land.' "  How  goodly  for  situation,  throned  in  the 
midst  of  the  ocean  !  Not  "  a  city,"  but  "  a  conti- 
nent "  "  set  on  a  hill."  From  its  heights  the  Church 
of  the  United  States  sends  out  its  beacon  light  east- 
ward to  the  sacerdotalism  and  formalism  of  Europe 
and  the  heathenism  of  Africa,  westward  to  the  dead 
conservatism  of  Asia,  and  southward  to  the  benighted 
millions  of  the  "  neglected  church."  Was  there  ever 
a  better  base  of  operations?  Was  there  ever  a 
stronger  leverage  for  uplifting  the  race?  Was  there 
ever  a  grander  theater  for  action?  And  on  this 
vantage  ground  God  has  placed  the  American  Chris- 
tian, the  resultant  combination  of  English  tenacity, 
Scotch  shrewdness,  German  steadiness,  Irish  vivacity, 
Welsh  frankness,  Dutch  sturdiness,  Huguenot  ser- 
iousness, and  Scandinavian  thrift— the  very  best  and 
highest  type  of  character — a  character  that,  brought 
under  the  sway  of  powerful  religious  motives,  "  full 
of  faith  and  the  Holy  Ghost,"  becomes  invincible  in 
the  conversion  of  the  world. 

THE    PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH. 

From  the  consideration  of  the  American  Churches 
in  general  let  us  turn  our  attention  to  our  own 
denomination.  While  we  recognize  and  admire  the 
dash  of  the  Methodists,  the  zeal  of  the  Baptists, 
the  energy  of  the  Congregationalists,  the  loyalty 
of  the  Lutherans,  and  the  stateliness  of  the  Episco- 


ANNIVEESABY  ADDRESSES,  29 

palians ;  while  we  recognize  most  fully  all  branches 
of  the  Church  of  Christ  as  our  brethren,  as  different 
corps  of  the  same  grand  army  ;  as  fighting  under  the 
same  flag  and  obedient  to  the  command  of  the  same 
leader ;  yet  in  this  year,  during  which  we  are  celebrat- 
ing the  two  hundred  and  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the 
adoption  of  our  Westminster  standards,  upon  an 
occasion  like  this  and  in  such  presence  it  will  not  be 
improper  or  invidious  to  give  special  prominence  to 
our  own  division  of  the  army  of  the  Lord. 

As  American  Presbyterians  we  can  thank  God  and 
take  courage.  Ours  is  not  a  Scotch,  Dutch,  Irish,  Eng- 
lish, Welsh,  French,  Swiss  or  German  Presbyterian 
Church,  but  a  union  of  all  of  them ;  as  with  our 
American  character,  so  with  it,  a  resultant  of  the  very 
best  of  the  several  constituents  from  which  it  was 
originally  formed.  It  has  appropriated  all  that  is  best 
in  the  teachings  of  the  Swiss  Reformed  Church,  from 
Ulrich  Zwingle  to  Philip  SchafF;  in  the  Huguenot 
Church  from  John  Calvin  to  Robert  Baird ;  in  the 
Scotch  Church  from  John  Knox  to  John  Witherspoon  ; 
in  Engli.sh  and  Welsh  Prcsbyterianism  from  John 
AA'yckliffe  to  Jonathan  .Edwards ;  all  the  best  from 
Saint  Patrick,  father  of  Prcsbyterianism  in  Ire- 
land, to  Francis  Makemie,  one  of  the  fathers  of 
Prcsbyterianism  in  America.  "  The  soil  of  Switzer- 
land is  in  the  roots,  the  blood  of  Holland  is  in  the 
veins,  and  the  free  breath  of  Scotland  in  the  leaves" 
of  the  Presbyterian  ism  that  shadows  a  continent  and 


30  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

offers  gospel  shelter  beneath  its  branches  for  the 
world's  humanity.  All  lines  of  progress  in  civiliza- 
tion, civil  liberty,  and  human  betterment  in  the  old 
world  led  to  and  brought  forth  their  richest  fruitage 
in  the  new.  Seeds  from  the  old  world  planted  in  a 
new  soil  have  grown  the  largest  body  of  Presby- 
terians on  the  globe.  There  are  eighty-six  affiliated 
branches  of  the  Alliance  of  the  Reformed  Churches 
throughout  the  world  holding  the  Presbyterian 
system.  The  thirteen  branches  in  the  United  States 
constitute  nearly  one-half  and  our  own  church  one- 
fifth  of  the  world's  Presbyterianism. 

IN    THE    REVOLUTION. 

The  Presbyterian  Church  of  America  gave  to  the 
world  the  American  republic ;  it  was  the  predomi- 
nant Church  of  the  Revolution.  The  Baptist  Cliurch 
at  that  period  was  few  in  numbers ;  the  Methodist 
Church  was  in  its  inftmcy  and  weak ;  the  Quakers 
and  some  of  the  German  Churches  were  non-com- 
batants ;  and  the  Established  Church  of  England  in 
the  colonies  sided  with  the  mother  country.  The 
Churches  that  then  controlled  public  sentiment  and 
shaped  the  affairs  of  State,  were  the  Congregationalists 
of  New  England  and  the  Presbyterians  of  the  New 
England,  Middle,  and  Southern  States.  The  Presby- 
terians greatly  outnumbered  the  Congregationalists  ; 
accordingly  more  tlian  one-half  of  the  officers  and 
soldiers  of  the  American  army  were  Presbyterians. 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  31 

The  lion.  Richard  Wright,  Speaker  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania House  of  Representatives,  himself  an  Episco- 
palian, declared  that  "  the  American  War  of  Inde- 
pendence was  a  Presbyterian  and  Scotch-Irisli  war." 
Horace  Walpole,  addressing  the  English  Parliament 
during  the  Revolution,  said  :  "  There  is  no  use  crying 
about  it.  Cousin  America  has  run  off  with  a  Presby- 
terian parson,  and  that  is  the  end  of  it."  Our  his- 
torian, Bancroft,  writes:  "The  first  voice  publicly 
raised  in  America  to  dissolve  all  connection  with 
Great  Britain  came  not  from  the  Puritans  of  New 
England,  nor  the  Dutch  of  New  York,  nor  the  plant- 
ers of  Virginia,  but  from  the  Scotch-Irish  Presbyte- 
rians." In  some  of  the  presbyteries  of  that  day  "  it 
was  deemed  an  offense  worthy  of  discipline  for  any 
minister  to  exhibit  British  sympathies."  Indeed  so 
prominent  were  Presbyterian  influences  that  both  in 
Europe  and  America  it  was  popularly  spoken  of  as 
the  "  Presbyterian  rebellion." 

As  in  colonial  and  revolutionary  times,  so  ever 
since  the  Presbyterian  Church  has  been  among  the 
foremost  in  support  of  reform  and  good  government. 
The  tendency  of  its  doctrines  being  to  make  brainy, 
whole-souled,  and  resolute  men — men  of  affairs — it  is 
not  strange  that  its  members  are  found  in  the  upper- 
most scats  of  scientific,  professional,  commercial,  and 
political  life ;  that  it  forms  the  judicial  character 
sought  for  the  supreme  and  other  high  courts  of  the 
land ;   that  ten  times  the  nation  has  turned  to  its 


32  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

Presbyterian  elements  for  its  President — Jackson, 
Van  Buren,  Harrison,  Tyler,  Polk,  Pierce,  Buchanan, 
Lincoln,  Cleveland,  and  Harrison. 

The  Presbyterian  Church  is  also  a  leading  Church 
in  liberality.  According  to  the  census  of  1890,  it 
contributed  for  missions  a  larger  sum  than  any  other 
denomination. 

ORGANIZATION. 

Not  only  have  we  been  brought  into  the  kingdom 
for  such  a  time  as  this,  placed  in  this  favored  land, 
and  connected  with  a  Church  that  is  one  of  the  lead- 
ing factors  in  moulding  and  controlling  public  senti- 
ment, but  we  have  a  Church  adequately  organized 
for  the  Avork  before  it.  Our  system  of  Sessions,  Pres- 
byteries, Synods,  and  General  Assembly  gives  true 
representation  to  the  voice  of  the  whole  Church.  It 
combines  strength  with  elasticity  and  liberty  with 
law;  it  secures  the  advantages  of  federal  control, 
while  providing  for  the  full  develojDment  of  the  in- 
dividual member. 

Our  system  of  boards  organizes  us  for  active  work. 
The  Board  of  Publication  and  Sabbath-school  Work 
provides  instruction  and  literature  for  the  children 
of  the  Church.  As  they  advance  in  3'ears  the  Board 
of  Aid  for  Colleges  and  Academies  provides  them 
wnth  higher  instruction,  and,  if  they  need  it,  the 
Board  of  Education  assists  in  defraying  the  expenses 
of  those    who   are   preparing   to    become   ministers. 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  33 

And  when  the  young  men  are  prepared  for  the 
active  work  of  the  ministry,  the  Board  of  Home 
Missions  stands  ready  to  send  them  to  the  weaker 
churches  of  the  older  States,  or  into  the  newer  regions 
of  the  land.  To  those  who  are  called  of  God  to  en- 
gage in  work  among  the  negroes,  the  Board  of  Freed- 
men  extends  a  helping  hand.  For  the  maintenance 
of  religious  school  work  among  mountain  whites, 
Negroes,  Mormons,  Mexicans,  Indians,  and  Alaskans, 
the  Women's  Board  of  Home  Missions  is  an  efficient 
organization.  That  the  strong  churches  may  help 
the  weak,  and  the  feeble  congregations  secure  a  sanc- 
tuary of  their  own,  is  the  work  of  the  Board  of  Church 
Erection.  Home  Missions,  Freedmen,  and  Church 
Erection  combine  to  give  Gospel  privileges  to  every 
section  of  this  great  land. 

And  while  the  Church  remembers  the  divine  com- 
mand of  "  beginning  at  Jerusalem,"  it  is  equally 
loyal  to  the  additional  command  of  sending  the 
Gospel  message  "  into  all  the  world."  For  this 
purpose  the  Church  has  the  Board  of  Foreign  Mis- 
sions, with  its  active  auxiliaries,  The  Women's 
Boards  of  Foreign  Missions.  And  last,  but  not  least, 
when  the  workers  have  given  their  strength  to  the 
service  of  the  Church,  and  through  failing  health  or 
the  infirmities  of  increasing  years  the  veterans  are 
compelled  to  retire  from  active  work,  the  Board  of 
Relief  for  Disabled  Ministers,  and  the  Widows  and 
Orphans  of  Deceased   Ministers,   lovingly  cares  for 

3 


34  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

them.  The  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  U.  S.  A.  has 
the  most  complete,  efficient,  and  perfect  system  of 
organized  church  work  in  existence.  With  the  in- 
spiration of  its  past  successes,  its  present  influential 
and  wealthy  membership,  and  its  thorough  organiza- 
tion, it  stands  to-day  the  leading  Church  in  the  evan- 
gelization of  America  and  the  world. 

NEED    OF    A    NEW    BAPTISM. 

In  the  neighboring  city  of  Omaha  stands  Machin- 
ery Hall,  Trans-Missouri  Exposition,  with  wheels 
innumerable,  shafting  by  the  mile,  and  machines  be- 
wildering in  their  complexity,  but  all  is  motionless. 
They  wait  the  touch  of  the  electric  button  that  com- 
municates power  and  starts  life.  Thus  the  "  Boards," 
the  machinery  through  which  the  Church  works,  are 
in  splendid  order,  fully  equipped,  and  competent  to 
conquer  this  land  and  the  world  for  Christ,  but  they 
are  not  doing  it :  they  wait  the  application  of  divine 
power — the  baptism  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Not  only  is 
the  Church  not  advancing  all  along  the  line,  but  it  is 
not  even  holding  its  own.  In  places  it  is  retreating ; 
needed  reinforcements  are  not  furnished ;  consecrated 
men  and  women  separated  by  the  Holy  Ghost  for 
mission  work  are  not  and  cannot  be  sent  for  want  of 
funds.  Missionaries  who  through  heroic  self-denial 
have  pushed  forward  the  work  have  been  compelled 
to  fall  back  for  want  of  supplies.  Some  churches 
have  been  closed ;  some  young  converts  remanded 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  35 

back  to  heathenism  ;  some  native  catechists,  won  and 
trained  through  years  of  patience  and  expense,  turned 
adrift ;  some  of  the  covenant  children  of  the  Church 
in  the  newer  settlements  denied  Gospel  privileges,  are 
making  shipwreck  of  their  souls ;  some  new  and 
growing  centers  of  influence  left  without  the  mould- 
ing and  restraining  influences  of  the  Gospel  and  a 
"  remembered  Sabbath,"  are  laying  the  foundations 
of  future  socialism  and  anarchy.  Many  talents  are 
hid  in  napkins  and  buried ;  many  stewardships  are 
unrecognized,  and  many  Christians  are  robbing 
God,  by  withholding  a  portion  of  the  offerings  that 
are  his  due.  The  Church,  through  her  Boards,  is  in 
debt,  and  the  cry  of  the  missionaries  suffering  from 
deferred  payments  and  reduced  salaries  ascends  before 
the  Most  High  God.  The  cries  of  Church  members, 
scattered  as  sheep  without  a  shepherd — the  cries  of 
your  children  going  down  to  destruction,  are  heard 
all  over  the  land.  They  reach  to  Heaven ;  they  are 
as  solemn  as  eternity. 

To  your  knees,  0  Church  of  the  Living  God  !  The 
great  and  overwhelming  need  of  the  hour — the  great 
and  overwhelming  need  of  our  country  and  Church 
— the  great  and  overwhelming  need  of  our  own  souls, 
is  the  fresh  and  immediate  baptism  of  the  Holy 
Spirit — a  baptism  which  shall  set  every  heart  on  fire 
of  God  to  possess  this  land  for  Christ.  At  the  close 
of  this  century  we  face  a  future  of  great  unrest ;  of 
reconstruction;    of    marvelous    and    rapid    changes. 


36  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY. 

And  the  Church  must  lead  and  control  these  changes, 
or  be  overwhelmed  by  them. 

"  We  are  living,  we  are  dwelling 
In  a  grand  and  awful  time ; 
In  an  age  on  ages  telling, 
To  be  living  is  sublime." 

We  are  living  in  one  of  the  great  crises  of  the 
world's  history.  The  age  demands  consecrated  men 
and  women,  consecrated  time,  consecrated  energies, 
and  consecrated  wealth.  Shall  it  have  them? 
"  Bring  ye  all  the  tithes  into  the  store-house,  that 
there  may  be  meat  in  my  house,  and  prove  me  now 
herewith,  saith  the  Lord  of  Hosts,  if  I  will  not  open 
you  the  windows  of  Heaven,  and  pour  you  out  a 
blessing,  that  there  shall  not  be  room  enough  to 
receive  it." 

"  Begin  to  possess,  that  thou  may  est  inherit  his 
land." 


Author  of  the  Solemn  League  aud  Coveuant.  aud  Leailer  of  the  Scotch  Commlsbioners. 


ALEXANDER  HENDEKSON. 
PRESENTATION  OF  PORTRAIT. 

BY 

W.  C.  GRAY,  LL.  D. 


ADDRESS 

BY   THE 

Rev.  WM.  HENRY   ROBERTS,  D.  D.,  LL.D. 


'^^}1 

^.) 


PRESENTATION   OF   THE   PORTRAIT   OF 
ALEXANDER   HENDERSON.* 

By  Dr.  W.  C.  GRAY, 

EDITOR    OF   THE    INTERIOR. 


Moderator  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Assembly: 

At  the  suggestion  of  your  honored  stated  clerk  I 
have  taken  the  liberty  of  substituting  a  portrait  of 
the  great  Scottish  Reformer,  Alexander  Henderson, 
for  the  one  promised  of  John  Witherspoon.  This  is 
more  appropriate  because  we  celebrate  to-day  the 
great  Calvinistic,  not  the  American,  Declaration  of 
Independence. 

And  this,  brethren,  is  also  an  expression  of  a 
thought  which  I  have  long  entertained,  that  we 
make  too  little  of  the  "  living  epistles "  sent  of  God 
to  us  from  age  to  age  in  the  persons  of  our  great 

*  Dr.  W.  C.  Gray,  in  May,  1897,  in  supporting  the  invitation  for 
the  Assembly  to  meet  at  Winona  Lake,  Indiana,  in  1898,  stated  that 
he  would  present  for  himself  and  others  a  portrait  of  John  Wither- 
spoon to  the  Assembly.  It  was  suggested  to  Dr.  Gray  that  the  por- 
trait of  Henderson  would  be  more  appropriate  to  the  occasion,  and 
the  suggestion  was  accepted  by  him  on  the  condition  that  the  stated 
clerk  of  the  Assembly  would  deliver  an  address  upon  the  subject  of 
the  portrait. 

39 


40  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

Christian  heroes  and  saints.  Those  who  have  come 
to  us  since  Christ  taught  and  died,  vastly  outnumber 
those  who  were  sent  before.  They  have  been  more 
in  number,  and,  I  will  venture  to  say,  leaving  aside 
the  prophets  and  apostles  with  their  divine  com- 
mission, more  illustrious  in  life,  service,  and  charac- 
ter. The  heroism  of  these  great  men  was  sublime, 
their  self-abnegation,  Christ-like.  Not  for  glory 
did  they  brave  death,  not  for  honors  did  they  toil, 
but  because  they  were  constrained  by  the  love  of 
Christ  and  of  their  fellow-men.  I  would  that  you, 
my  spiritual  fathers,  would  read  more  of  these  "  liv- 
ing epistles"  to  your  people  from  your  pulpits. 

Upon  this  canvas  the  form  and  features  of  one  of 
the  great  benefactors  of  the  Church  are  brought  to 
view  by  the  skilful  brush  of  the  artist.  His  higher 
self,  his  mind  and  soul,  his  character  and  services, 
are  now  to  be  portrayed  by  that  prince  of  adopted 
Philadelphians,  scholar  and  orator.  Dr.  William  Henry 
Roberts. 

Dr.  Roberts  responded  to  Dr.  Gray,  saying : 

It  gives  me  sincere  pleasure  to  accept,  in  the  name 
of  the  General  Assembly,  the  portrait  of  Alexander 
Henderson,  presented  for  himself  and  others  by  our 
distinguished  friend,  the  gifted  editor  of  the  Interior. 
The  presentation  emphasizes  our  unity  in  support  of 
the  common  faith,  our  loyalty  to  the  great  Head  of 
the  Church,  and  adds  a  deeper  and  more  lively  interest 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  41 

to  this  historic  commemoration.  May  this  incident 
in  the  celebration  be  but  one  of  many  which  shall 
bring  us  yet  closer  together  as  brethren  of  the  same 
household.  I  now  proceed  to  the  delivery  of  the 
address  upon  the  subject  of  the  portrait. 


ALEXANDER  HENDERSON. 

BY   THE 

Rev.  WM.  HENRY   ROBERTS,  D.  D.,  LL.  D. 


The  Presbyterian  Churches,  in  whatever  land  lo- 
cated, have  been  highly  privileged  of  God  in  the  gift 
from  him  of  men  competent  for  the  great  emergencies 
of  their  history.  Peculiarly  has  this  been  true  of  the 
Church  of  Scotland,  the  Church  of  which  Alexander 
Henderson  was  a  minister.  First  of  its  leaders  must 
ever  stand  John  Knox,  and  next  to  him  the  subject 
of  our  thought,  of  whom  it  was  said,  in  the  Scotch 
Assembly  of  1647,  in  an  address  by  Baillie,  one  of  the 
Commissioners  to  the  Westminster  Assembly,  that  his 
career  made  it  obligatory  on  "  the  Presbyterians  and 
on  their  posterity  to  count  him  the  fairest  ornament, 
after  Mr.  John  Knox,  of  incomparable  memory,  that 
ever  the  Church  of  Scotland  did  enjoy."  Placed  thus 
next  to  John  Knox  in  relation  to  the  history  of 
British  Presbyterianism,  it  is  appropriate  on  this 
occasion  briefly  to  sketch  his  life,  and  to  exhibit  his 
intimate  connection  with  the  history  of  those  great 
standards  of  faith  and  practice,  which  it  is  our  privi- 
lege to  maintain,  as  well  as  to  commemorate. 

43 


44  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

Alexander  Henderson  was  born  in  the  year  1583, 
at  Creich,  in  Fifeshire,  Scotland.  The  Hendersons 
of  Ford  el  claim  him  as  a  cadet  of  their  family.  He 
graduated  at  St.  Andrews'  University  in  1603,  and  by 
the  year  1610  was  a  professor  therein  and  also  ques- 
tor  of  the  Faculty  of  Arts.  His  reputation  for  learn- 
ing and  philosophy  was  completely  established  at  the 
early  age  of  twenty -seven.  Shortly  thereafter  he  be- 
came minister  of  the  parish  of  Leuchars,  in  the  Pres- 
bytery of  St.  Andrews,  and  was  at  the  time  of  his 
installation  a  supporter  of  Episcopacy.  The  religious 
controversies  then  prevalent  in  Scotland,  however, 
quickly  brought  him  face  to  face  with  the  undying 
conflict  between  the  Presbyterian  and  Episcopal,  the 
popular  and  the  autocratic  forms  of  Church  Govern- 
ment. While  debating  the  issue  between  the  two,  an 
event  befell  Henderson  which  became  the  turning- 
point  of  his  life.  The  Rev.  Robert  Bruce  of  Kinnaird, 
one  of  the  distinguished  Presbyterian  ministers  of  the 
period,  administered  communion  one  Sabbath  in  a  par- 
ish adjoining  that  over  which  Henderson  was  pastor. 
The  latter  attended  the  preparatory  service,  and,  un- 
der the  fervent  preaching  of  Bruce,  underwent,  ac- 
cording to  his  own  testimony,  that  great  inward  change 
which  we  know  as  regeneration.  From  the  hour  of 
his  conversion,  like  others  of  the  great  evangelical 
leaders,  he  at  once  abandoned  Episcopacy,  and  threw 
himself  heart  and  soul  into  the  cause  of  the  Reforma- 
tion.    The  evangelical  faith  is  always  antagonistic 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  45 

to  hierarchical  pretensions,  and  there  is  an  intimate 
relationship  between  the  doctrines  of  grace  and  true 
liberty. 

So  distinguished  and  able  a  minister  as  Hen- 
derson became  speedily  a  leader  of  the  Presby- 
terians. The  times  were  critical,  and  the  man  called 
of  God  had  appeared.  About  1625,  Charles  I.  began 
his  efforts  to  force  upon  Scotland  the  Episcopal  wor- 
ship and  ceremonies  practised  in  England.  Melville 
and  Calderwood,  the  old  leaders  of  the  Reformation, 
had  been  banished  from  the  kingdom.  Henderson, 
instead  of  being  overawed  by  their  fate,  came  boldly  for- 
ward in  defense  of  liberty.  The  struggle  went  on  for 
several  years,  and  came  finally  to  a  crisis  in  St.  Giles' 
Cathedral,  Edinburgh,  on  Sunday,  July  23,  1637,  by 
the  act  of  Jenny  Geddes,  who  threw  the  stool  upon 
which  she  had  been  sitting  at  the  officiating  priest, 
as  he  began  the  reading  of  the  English  Liturgy. 
This  act  of  a  Scotch  matron  was  the  beginning  of 
the  struggle  for  constitutional  and  Christian  freedom, 
not  only  for  Scotland  but  for  the  w^orld.  Not  the 
first  time,  by  the  way,  that  women  have  played  an 
influential  part  in  the  cause  of  civil  and  religious 
liberty.  Men  and  women  of  all  classes  of  society, 
and  the  great  majority  of  the  nobility  of  Scotland,  at 
once  took  sides  against  the  king  and  the  bishops. 
The  monarch  refusing  to  call  a  General  Assembly, 
Presbyterians  quickly  found  another  method  of  co- 
operation.    Every  county,  presbytery,  and  borough 


46  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

in  the  kingdom  appointed  a  representative,  who 
constituted,  with  the  nobility,  and  with  Henderson 
and  Dickson,  a  General  Council.  It  was  arranged 
that  these  Commissioners,  as  they  were  called,  should 
meet  as  a  body  only  on  extraordinary  occasions,  and 
that  ordinary  executive  power  should  be  vested  in 
four  committees  or  tables,  consisting  each  of  four 
individuals,  one  table  of  noblemen,  another  of  gentle- 
men, a  third  of  burgesses,  and  a  fourth  of  ministers. 
A  member  from  each  of  these  four  tables  constituted 
the  chief  table,  possessed  of  supreme  authority.  Of 
this  chief  table,  Henderson,  as  the  leading  minister 
of  Scotland,  soon  became  the  dominating  spirit. 
Side  by  side  with  the  king's  government,  therefore, 
there  came  promptly  into  existence  in  Scotland  a 
new  representative  government,  and  its  orders  were 
everywhere  obeyed  with  far  more  promptitude  than 
those  of  the  most  despotic  of  tyrants.  Through  the 
five  tables  or  boards  all  Scotland  could  be  set  in 
motion  within  forty-eight  hours,  and  more  than  once 
was  so  set  in  motion,  in  support  of  the  principles  of 
the  Reformation. 

Having  thus  organized  the  Presbyterian  forces,  it 
was  natural  that  some  steps  should  be  taken  which 
would  bind  them  indissolubly  into  one.  The  Epis- 
copal authorities,  with  the  sanction  of  the  king, 
endeavored  to  foment  differences  between  the  Presby- 
terians. There  were  three  parties  among  the  latter, 
one  called  the  Eastern,  the  second  the  Western,  and 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  47 

the  third  the  Highland.  Edinburgh  was  the  center 
of  one,  Glasgow  of  another,  and  Aberdeen  of  the 
third.  Between  them  there  was  much  friction. 
Henderson,  however,  knew  the  people  with  whom  he 
was  dealing.  He  realized  then,  what  has  been  wit- 
nessed often  since  in  the  history  of  the  Presbyterian 
Churches,  that,  however  they  may  differ  upon  many 
things,  there  is  one  thing  which  unites  them  firmly  to- 
gether, loyalty  to  sound  doctrine.  Henderson,  there- 
fore, proposed  through  the  tables  to  the  Reformers,  that, 
as  they  were  declared  outlaws  and  rebels  by  their 
sovereign,  they  should  join  in  covenant  with  their  God. 
The  covenant  as  written  by  him  consisted  of  three 
parts :  first,  the  old  covenant  of  1560,  containing  the 
Confession  of  Faith ;  second,  the  acts  of  Parliament 
sustaining  the  Confession  of  Scotland  against  popery  ; 
and  third,  special  clauses  applicable  to  the  prevailing 
circumstances.  It  was  worded  so  as  to  set  forth  not 
only  the  determination  of  the  signers  to  "  resist  all 
contrary  errors  to  the  uttermost  of  their  power  all 
the  days  of  their  lives,"  but  also  pledged  them  not  "  to 
suffer  themselves  to  be  defeated  or  withdraw  from 
their  union." 

Wednesday,  February  28,  1638,  became  in  con- 
nection with  this  covenant,  known  as  the  Solemn 
League  and  Covenant,  one  of  the  most  memorable 
days  in  the  history  of  the  world.  Presbyterians  had 
crowded  to  Edinburgh  to  the  number  of  sixty  thou- 
sand.    A  fast  had  been  appointed  in  the  church  of 


48  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

the  Grey  Friars.  At  two  o'clock  on  that  day  the 
venerable  edifice,  and  the  large  open  space  around  it, 
were  filled  with  Reformers  from  every  portion  of  the 
country.  Henderson  constituted  the  meeting  by 
prayer.  The  Earl  of  Loudon  stated  the  occasion  of 
the  gathering.  The  covenant  was  then  read.  Objec- 
tions, which  were  few,  were  heard,  and  about  four 
o'clock  the  venerable  Earl  of  Sutherland  stepped 
forward  and  put  the  first  name  to  the  memorable 
instrument.  After  his  signature  had  been  appended, 
it  was  carried  the  rounds  of  the  whole  church,  and 
was  then  taken  out  to  be  signed  by  the  crowd  in  the 
church-yard.  Here  it  was  spread  upon  a  flat  tomb- 
stone, and  many  wrote  after  their  names  the  words, "  till 
death,"  and  some,  ink  failing,  opened  their  veins  and 
signed  with  their  own  blood.  In  testimony  of  their 
sincerity,  the  signers,  after  the  subscription  had  been 
completed,  confirmed  it  by  an  oath.  Grandly  solemn 
must  the  scene  have  been,  when,  the  signatures  hav- 
ing been  completed,  that  vast  assemblage  of  nobles, 
gentry,  ministers,  elders,  and  burgesses,  with  uplifted 
hands,  with  tears  streaming  down  their  faces,  called 
upon  God  to  witness  to  their  loyalty  to  the  Solemn 
League  and  Covenant.  Well  might  Henderson  say, 
"  that  this  was  the  day  of  the  Lord's  power,  wherein 
the  arm  of  the  Lord  was  revealed,  the  day  of  the 
Redeemer's  strength,  on  which  the  princes  of  the 
people  assembled  to  swear  their  allegiance  to  the 
King  of  Kings." 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  49 

The  signing  of  the  Solemn  League  and  Covenant 
at  Greyfriars'  Church  was  followed  by  the  signature 
of  copies  of  it  in  every  portion  of  Scotland.  The 
effect  upon  the  hierarchical  party  was  decisive.  They 
found  that  the  people  were  practically  a  unit  for  the 
Presbyterian  Reformation.  The  king  at  first  deter- 
mined to  use  force,  but  soon  became  convinced  that  it 
would  be  a  useless  thing  so  to  do.  The  Reformers  or 
Covenanters  followed  up  their  advantage  by  petition- 
ing the  king  to  call  the  General  Assembly.  To  this 
he  finally  consented,  and  on  November  21,  1638,  the 
first  General  Assembly  in  twenty  years  met  in  St. 
Mungo's  Cathedral  in  the  city  of  Glasgow.  To  this 
Assembly  gathered  all  the  chief  lords  of  the  Coun- 
cil and  barons  of  Scotland,  who  sat  in  the  body 
armed,  and  who,  in  more  than  one  sense,  were  ruling 
elders.  Along  with  them,  and  a  number  of  other 
elders,  were  seated  the  ministers  from  the  several 
Presbyteries,  to  the  number  of  about  one  hundred 
and  forty.  The  body  was  presided  over  at  first  by 
the  Lord  High  Commissioner,  the  Duke  of  Hamilton, 
appointed  by  the  king  to  represent  him,  and  was 
opened  with  j)rayer  by  the  Rev.  John  Bell,  the  oldest 
minister  of  the  bounds.  The  Pligh  Commissioner 
endeavored  in  every  way  possible  to  prevent  action 
on  the  part  of  the  Assembl}',  even  to  the  extent  of 
opposing  the  choice  of  a  moderator,  but  in  vain. 
Alexander  Henderson  was  duly  elected,  and  under 
his  skilful  leadership  the  Constitution  of  the  Church 


50  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

was  in  all  particulars  restored  to  that  which  it  had 
been  under  John  Knox,  and  the  bishops  whom  the 
king  had  established  in  Scotland  were  deposed  from 
office.  The  deposition  of  the  bishops  took  place  on 
Tuesday,  the  13th  of  December,  in  the  presence  of 
a  great  multitude,  being  preceded  by  a  sermon  by 
Henderson  upon  the  text, "  The  Lord  said  unto  my 
Lord,  Sit  thou  on  my  right  hand,  till  I  make  thine 
enemies  thy  footstool."  After  the  sermon,  Henderson, 
with  great  solemnity  and  gravity,  pronounced  the 
sentence  of  deposition.  In  the  performance  of  this 
act  he  had  the  unique  honor  of  being  the  one  Pres- 
byterian moderator,  who,  with  due  forms  of  law,  de- 
posed from  the  places  which  they  had  usurped  in  the 
Church  of  Scotland,  two  archbishops  and  twelve 
bishops.  Of  these  bishops,  eight  were  excommuni- 
cated as  well  as  deposed.  Thus  was  the  Church  freed 
from  the  bonds  of  ecclesiastical  tyranny,  and  thus 
was  signally  vindicated  its  power  to  govern  itself,  under 
Christ,  the  supreme  Head. 

The  struggle  begun  in  Scotland  spread  gradually 
to  other  portions  of  the  kingdom  of  Great  Britain, 
Li  England  and  Wales,  Puritanism  had  been  accom- 
plishing its  beneficent  revolutionary  work.  The 
Presbyterians  had  become  a  powerful  party  in  the 
Church  of  England,  and  the  Long  Parliament  was 
controlled  by  them.  They  had  also  been  materially 
aided  by  the  warlike  acts  of  the  Covenanters  of  Scot- 
land, who  in  defense  of  their  liberties  had  invaded 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  51 

England,  and  had  inflicted  serious  defeats  upon  the 
forces  of  King  Charles.  In  this  condition  of  affairs, 
Henderson,  as  the  leader  of  the  Church  of  Scotland, 
an  Assembly  moderator  with  a  victorious  army  at  his 
back,  was  appointed  one  of  the  Commissioners  to 
negotiate  a  treaty  with  the  king.  As  a  result,  on  the 
first  of  October,  a  truce  was  established  between  the 
warring  parties,  and  from  Ripon,  the  place  of  meet- 
ing, the  Scotch  Commissioners  went  to  London  and 
brought  charges  against  Laud,  the  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury.  In  1641,  the  Scotch  General  Assembly 
again  met,  and  Henderson  was  made  a  second  time 
moderator.  By  this  time  he  had  become  the  leader, 
not  only  in  the  Church,  but  also  in  the  State.  His  was 
the  influence  of  moral  force  and  of  strong  and  equable 
character.  At  the  Assembly  of  1642,  which  met  at  St. 
Andrews,  Henderson  was  appointed  to  answer  a  letter 
from  the  Parliament  of  England,  and  in  the  reply 
which  he  prepared  he  emphasized  the  necessity  of  hav- 
ing one  Confession  of  Faith,  Catechism,  and  Directory 
in  both  nations.  To  this  proposal  of  Henderson's  the 
Parliament  of  England  consented,  and  announced 
their  resolution  to  call  an  assembly  of  divines,  and 
to  require  some  ministers  from  the  Kirk  of  Scotland 
to  assist  at  the  deliberations.  Henderson  was  there- 
fore the  author  of  the  proposition  which  resulted  in 
the  calling  of  the  Westminster  Assembly,  and  in  that 
body,  the  Commissioners  from  the  Church  of  Scotland 
were,  Henderson  as  the  leading  minister,  with  Douglas, 


")2  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

Gillespie,  Rutherford,  and  Baillie,  and,  in  addition, 
ruling  elders,  the  Lords  Cassillis,  Maitland,  and  War- 
riston. 

At  the  Westminster  Assembly  great  honor  was  paid 
to  Henderson.  To  him  was  assigned  the  framing  of 
the  first  draft  of  the  Directory  for  Public  Worship. 
He  took  part  in  the  Assembly  for  a  sufficient  length 
of  time  to  see  the  Liturgy  overthrown  in  England,  as 
it  had  been  in  Scotland,  and  the  Presbyterian  Church 
made  the  Established  Church  of  England.  These 
changes  were  effected  after  a  recommendation  from 
the  Westminster  Assembly  by  the  Parliament.  Hen- 
derson also  persuaded  both  the  Westminster  Assem- 
bly and  the  English  Parliament  to  accept  the  Solemn 
League  and  Covenant.  Both  bodies  met  for  the  pur- 
pose in  St.  Margaret's  Church,  London,  the  Covenant 
was  explained  at  length  by  Henderson,  was  read  arti- 
cle by  article,  and  then  two  hundred  and  twenty-two 
members  of  Parliament  signed  the  instrument,  as  did 
also  the  Assembly  and  many  of  the  audience.  Thus 
were  England,  Scotland,  Wales,  and  Ireland  welded 
into  unity  in  maintenance  of  the  true  faith  and  of 
the  cause  of  liberty.  Henderson  intended  also  to 
visit  the  Reformed  Churches  of  the  Continent,  and 
was  the  chief  writer  of  a  manifesto  sent  by  the  West- 
minster Assembl}^  in  the  interests  of  the  common  faith, 
to  the  Churches  of  Holland,  France,  Germany,  and 
Switzerland.  He  returned  to  Scotland  for  a  brief 
period,  and  was  present  at  the  Scotch  Assembly  of 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  63 

1G45,  which  approved  the  Westminster  Directory  of 
Public  Worship,  Then  he  went  back  for  a  few 
weeks  to  Westminster,  and  took  part  in  the  work  of 
completing  the  version  of  the  Psalms  known  as  Rous's, 
from  the  name  of  its  author,  Francis  Rous,  a  native 
of  Cornwall,  England.  The  last  important  public  act 
in  the  life  of  Henderson  was  the  conduct  of  a  dispu- 
tation with  King  Charles  I.,  upon  the  points  which 
separated  the  king  from  the  Covenanters.  This  dis- 
putation was  conducted  in  writing  at  Newcastle,  Eng- 
land, in  1646.  The  papers  containing  it  are  extant, 
and  the  answer  to  the  claim  made  b}'  some  persons 
at  the  time,  that  the  king's  arguments  were  the 
stronger,  was,  that  if  such  was  the  case,  then  as  the 
king's  arguments  were  authorities  from  the  fathers, 
who  were  fallible  men,  his  triumph  was  over  the 
Word  of  God.  Imrnediately  after  the  conclusion  of 
this  disputation,  which  bound  the  king  and  Hender- 
son yet  closer  in  ties  of  a  personal  friendship  which 
had  long  existed,  Henderson's  constitution  broke 
down.  Never  a  robust  man,  the  mental  anxieties 
and  fatigue  of  public  life  made  him  the  easy  prey  of 
disease.  He  passed  from  earth  to  heaven  on  the  19th 
of  August,  1646,  at  the  age  of  fifC}'-three  years.  (^ 

But  what  a  record  is  that  "of  his  life.  How  it  em- 
phasizes the  value  of  unremitting  devotion  to  the 
cause  of  truth.  Savingly  converted  by  the  earnest 
preaching  of  the  Word  of  God,  he  was  faithful  to  that 
Word  in  every  hour.    How  his  life  sets  forth  also  the 


54  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

power  of  a  patient,  clear-sighted,  prompt,  and  firm 
mind.  In  the  furnace  of  controversy,  Henderson 
never  departed  from  the  gentle  courtesy  which  be- 
comes the  servant  of  the  Lord.  In  the  great  emer- 
gencies of  the  conflict  between  truth  and  error  he 
saw  what  ought  to  be  done  and  did  it.  When  a 
course  of  action  was  once  determined  upon,  he  fol- 
lowed it  strenuously  and  persistently  until  the  result 
was  secured.  As  the  head  of  the  Boards  of  the  Scotch 
ecclesiastical  Republic ;  as  the  moderator  who  ruled 
with  a  hand  of  steel  in  a  velvet  glove;  as  the  de- 
stroyer in  Scotland  of  a  church  government  alien  to 
the  faith  and  spirit  of  the  people ;  as  the  penman  of  the 
Solemn  League  and  Covenant;  as  the  proposer  of  the 
Westminster  Assembly ;  as  the  leading  Commissioner 
of  the  Church  of  Scotland  in  that  great  body ;  as  the 
friend  of  the  king ;  as  the  unifier  of  the  forces  of 
righteousness  and  order  in  Church  and  State,  he 
stands  a  man  whose  like  either  Church  or  State  have 
seldom  known.  His  fellow  commissioner,  Baillie, 
pronounced  upon  him  a  tender  eulogium  in  the 
Scotch  Assembly  of  1647,  saying,  among  other  things, 
"  May  I  be  permitted  to  conclude  with  my  earnest 
wish  that  that  glorious  soul  of  worthy  memory, 
who  is  now  crowned  with  the  reward  of  his  labors 
for  God  and  for  us,  may  be  fragrant  among  us 
so  long  as  pure  and  free  Assemblies  remain  in  this 
land,  which  I  hope  will  be  till  the  coming  of  the 
Lord." 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  55 

In  a  land  but  little  known  during  his  lifetime  the 
memory  of  Alexander  Henderson  is  to-day  gratefully 
remembered  and  lovingly  acknowledged.  His  hope 
for  the  unity  of  the  Churches  of  God  is  not  yet  fully 
realized,  but  the  liberty  for  which  he  strove  and  the 
faith  for  which  he  contended,  have  flourished  greatly 
in  this  continent  west  of  the  Atlantic !  The  men  of 
the  Revolution  of  1776,  almost  without  exception, 
were  believers  in  the  principles  of  Westminster,  and 
the  churches  which  they  founded  and  maintained 
were  in  full  harmony  with  those  great  Standards. 
In  this  land,  further,  the  popular  government  which 
Henderson  loved,  and  which  finds  its  roots  in  the 
Calvinistic  system,  has  come  to  full  development. 
Do  you  ask  for  one  monument  of  Henderson  and  his 
colaborers,  look  upon  this  Republic,  free,  united,  pros- 
perous. Do  you  ask  for  another,  look  upon  the  Pres- 
byterian Churches  of  this  land,  loyal  to  the  core,  de- 
spite all  o{)positions,  to  the  truth  of  God.  May  the 
Presbyterians  of  this  land  be  as  true  as  the  fathers 
to  the  Calvinistic  system,  recognizing  always,  as  the 
men  of  Westminster  recognized,  these  great  truths: 

1.  That  the  glory  of  the  Presbyterian  Churches  has 
been,  is,  and  will  be,  steadfast  adherence  to  the  system 
of  doctrine  which  they  believe  to  be  contained  in  the 
Holy  Scriptures,  and  undeviating  loyalty  to  Christ 
as  the  sole  Prophet,  Priest,  and  King  of  his  Church. 

2.  That  the  Word  of  God  is  the  supreme  law  of 
man,  and  that  an  open  Bible  means  not  only  the  rule 


56  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

of  righteousness  m  every  life,  but  also  a  free  Church 
and  a  free  State  in  every  land. 

3.  That  evangelical  religion  is  both  the  source  and 
strength  of  true  liberty  and  progress.  The  truth 
of  God  is  in  order  to  goodness,  and  the  only  hope  for 
the  redemption,  secular  and  spiritual,  of  this  sin- 
cursed  world,  is  found  in  that  Gospel  by  which  men 
"  are  born  again,  not  of  corruptible  seed,  but  of  incor- 
ruptible, which  liveth  and  abideth  for  ever." 

Thus  realizing  duty,  thus  compassed  about  with 
the  great  cloud  of  witnesses,  let  us  in  this  later  age 
of  the  world  be  true  to  all  the  glory  of  the  past  and 
all  the  hopes  of  the  future.     Let  us  press 

"On!  straight  onward,  for  the  right! 
On !  let  all  the  soul  within  you 
For  the  truth's  sake  go  abroad; 
On !  let  every  nerve  and  sinew 
Tell  on  ages,  tell  for  God." 


THE   CIVIL  AND   KELIGIOUS   CONDI- 
TIONS  OF   THE   TIMES   OF   THE 
WESTMINSTER   ASSEMBLY. 

BY  THE 

Rev.   SAMUEL  J.    iNICCOLLS,   D.  D,  LL.  D. 


THE  CIVIL  AND  RELIGIOUS  CONDITIONS  OF 

THE   TIMES   OF  THE   WESTMINSTER 

ASSEMBLY. 

BY   THE 

Rev.  SAMUEL  J.   NICCOLLS,  D.  D.,  LL.  D. 


Moderator,  Fathers,  and  Brethren  : 

At  first  reading,  one  might  readily  suppose  the 
Westminster  Standards  to  be  the  product  of  quiet 
times,  the  labor  of  cloistered  theologians  who,  re- 
moved from  the  distractions  of  life  and  unaflected 
by  the  passions  of  men,  carefully  elaborated  their 
opinions.  Logical  and  symmetrical  in  form,  written 
in  a  clear  passionless  style,  and  with  the  single  excep- 
tion of  the  reference  to  the  papacy,  free  from  all  terms 
or  phrases  that  would  indicate  controversy  or  con- 
demnation of  opposing  views,  they  give  no  indica- 
tion that  they  were  framed  in  tumultuous  times,  when 
the  feelings  of  men  were  excited  to  the  highest  de- 
gree. Like  pure  gold  that  has  passed  through  the 
furnace,  the  smell  of  fire  is  not  on  them.  But  he  who 
would  attempt  to  account  for  them  by  simpl}-  refer- 
ring to  the  Act  of  Parliament  that  called  into  exist- 
ence the  Westminster  Assembly  of  divines,  has  a  very 
imperfect  and  superficial  conception  of  their  origin. 

59 


60  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

He  fails  to  take  into  account  the  great  forces  that 
have  worked  in  liistory,  of  which  they  are  in  part  the 
expression.  Two  Imndred  and  fifty  years  backward 
from  to-day  takes  us  to  a  critical  period  in  English  liis- 
tory. The  leaven  of  great  truths,  fermenting  for  years 
among  the  people,  had  at  last  wrought  its  work,  and 
was  now  bubbling,  and  swelling,  and  breaking  forth 
on  the  surface  of  society  with  irresistible  force.  It  is 
true  that  when  on  the  3d  of  November,  1640,  Parlia- 
ment, the  historic  Long  Parliament,  assembled,  it 
was  with  the  promise  and  hope  of  peace. 

The  speaker  of  the  House  of  Commons  in  glowing 
terms  congratulated  the  king  on  tlie  prosperity  of 
his  realm  and  the  glory  of  his  throne.  Gathei'ed 
around  him  were  the  Lords  Temporal,  apparelled  after 
their  order,  and  the  scarlet-robed  barons;  with  them 
clothed  in  lawn  and  rochet  were  the  Lords  Spiritual, 
the  representatives  of  the  ancient  Church  of  England. 
All  were  fervent  in  their  expressions  of  loyalty,  and 
the  stately  ceremonials  of  the  occasion  gave  no  indi- 
cation of  the  suppressed  feeling  that  was  soon  to  burst 
forth  in  a  tempest  of  wrath,  overwhelming  for  a  time 
both  throne  and  church.  A  crisis  was  at  hand  des- 
tined by  its  effects  to  influence  not  only  the  future 
history  of  England  but  of  the  world.  Two  parties 
were  there  facing  each  other,  ready  to  join  in  a  life- 
and-death  struggle,  One  was  composed  of  the  men 
of  the  past,  the  representatives  of  the  ancient  order, 
the  supporters  of  the  divine  right  of  kings,  the  up- 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  61 

holders  of  hierarchy.  The  other  consisted  of  the  men 
of  the  future,  the  forerunners  of  Uberty,  the  pioneers 
of  democracy,  whose  mission  it  was  to  make  the 
crooked  phices  straight  and  the  rougli  places  plain, 
that  a  highway  might  be  prepared  along  which  in 
future  ages  the  people  would  march  to  their  destiny 
in  peace  and  safety.  The  causes  which  led  to  the 
then  existing  condition  of  affairs  are  not  dithcult  to 
discover.  Among  them  must  be  placed  the  revolt 
against  the  authority  of  Rome,  begun  in  the  preced- 
ing century  by  Henry  VIII.  That  revolt  was  more 
political  than  religious  in  its  character  ;  it  was  a  decla- 
ration of  independence  upon  the  part  of  the  English 
people  from  an  oppressive  foreign  despotism.  It  was 
in  no  true  sense  a  reformation  of  the  Church  from  its 
error  and  superstition  ;  but  it  was  a  step  fraught  with 
important  consequences  for  the  future  liberties  of  the 
people.  Associated  with  it  was  a  more  potent  cause, 
the  doctrines  of  the  Reformation  that  was  then  agi- 
tating Europe.  These  doctrines,  briefly  summarized, 
were  three :  The  right  of  private  judgment  or  liberty 
of  conscience ;  the  supreme  authority  of  holy  Scrip- 
ture; and  justification  by  faith  alone.  They  were 
the  cardinal  doctrines  of  Protestantism.  It  is  not 
material  now  to  state  how  they  entered  into  England  ; 
it  is  enough  to  know  that  they  were  received  at  first 
by  a  few,  but  gradually  acquired  a  larger  dominion. 
Their  presence  and  working  can  readily  be  seen,  now 
in  political  dissensions,  now  in  doctrinal  discussions, 


62  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

and  again  in  disputes  concerning  rites  and  ceremonies. 
Their  growth  can  be  traced  by  martyrdoms,  impris- 
onments, and  persecutions.  Those  who  advocated 
them  did  so  at  the  peril  of  their  lives. 

The  prison,  the  scaffold,  and  the  burning  stake 
were  then,  as  they  ever  have  been,  the  milestones 
marking  progress  in  the  march  of  civil  and  religious 
liberty.  It  was  not,  however,  until  the  close  of  the 
reign  of  Elizabeth  that  Protestantism  was  firml}"- 
established  in  England,  and  accepted  by  the  majority 
of  the  people.  But  even  then  the  condition  of  the 
National  Church  was  far  from  satisfactory.  It  still 
bore  the  marks  of  its  old  enslavement  to  Rome. 
There  were  those  in  it  who  demanded  a  larger  and 
clearer  application  of  the  doctrines  of  the  Reforma- 
tion. They  desired  to  see  the  Church  of  their  fathers 
set  free  from  the  bondage  of  ecclesiastical  tyranny 
and  brought  into  close  conformity  to  the  Scriptures, 
both  in  doctrine  and  government.  Many  of  these 
when  driven  abroad  by  persecution  had  found  a 
refuge  in  Geneva  and  Holland,  and  in  these  great 
schools  of  liberty  had  been  instructed  more  fully  in 
the  Calvinistic  doctrines  and  the  Presbyterian  polity. 
They  returned  earnest  propagandists  of  these  new 
views.  These,  with  others  like  minded  with  them, 
constituted  the  Puritan  element  of  the  Church  of 
England,  They  were  not  separatists.  They  did  not 
purpose  to  establish  an  independent  church,  but 
their  consciences  forbade  them  to  conform  to  certain 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  63 

usages  which  seemed  to  them  contrary  to  the  truth 
of  the  gospel.  Ceremonial  worship  or  a  simple  ser- 
vice, altars  or  communion  tables,  kneeling  or  sitting 
at  the  reception  of  the  Holy  Communion,  white  sur- 
plices or  black  gowns  were  to  them  burning  ques- 
tions. However  trivial  they  may  seem  to  us,  they 
were  then  questions  involving  vital  doctrines.  The 
contention  of  the  Puritans  was  that  they  should 
be  free  from  the  commandments  and  traditions  of 
men,  and  that  the  ritual  of  the  Church  should  be 
purged  from  all  papistical  ceremonies  and  services 
and  restored  to  the  simplicity  of  the  Apostolic  Church. 
So  it  was,  when  upon  the  death  of  Elizabeth,  James 
I.  came  to  the  throne,  the  hopes  of  the  Puritan  party 
were  greatly  revived.  Was  he  not  a  member  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Scotland  ?  Had  he  not  given 
his  kineclv  word  to  maintain  its  liberties?  Had  he 
not  spoken  of  the  English  Prayer-book  as  "  an  evil 
said  mass  in  English,  wanting  nothing  of  the  mass 
but  the  liftings?"  No  wonder  that  the  millenary 
petition  signed  by  a  thousand  clergymen  of  the 
Church  of  England  asking  for  a  revision  of  the  ritual 
for  public  worship  and  for  a  reform  in  government, 
was  presented  to  him  with  confidence  and  hope. 
The  historic  conference  at  Hampton  Court,  so  fatal 
in  its  results,  effectually  destroyed  this  hope.  James, 
whom  Henry  IV.  of  France  called  "  the  wisest  fool  in 
Christendom,"  seemed  to  have  clianged  his  principles, 
if  he  ever  had  any,  in  leaving  the  climate  of  Edin- 


64  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

burgh  for  that  of  London.  The  conference  ended 
with  the  king's  declaration,  "  I  will  make  them  con- 
form or  else  I  will  harrie  them  out  of  the  land,  or 
else  do  worse,  hang  them,  that  is  all."  It  was  a  decla- 
ration of  war  upon  the  part  of  the  throne,  a  fatal 
policy  for  the  ill-starred  house  of  the  Stuarts.  It  is 
needless  now  to  state  what  followed.  The  heroic 
sacrifices  of  the  non-conforming  ministers,  the  grow- 
ing arrogance  of  the  bishops,  the  inquisitorial  pro- 
ceedings of  the  Star  Chamber  and  High  Commission, 
the  conflicts  between  Parliament  and  the  throne,  and 
the  despotic  assumptions  of  the  king  are  well-known 
matters  of  history.  The  determination  of  the  throne 
and  the  hierarchy  to  enforce  conformity  resulted  in 
increasing  and  strengthening  the  party  of  liberty.  As 
with  Israel  in  Egypt  "  the  more  they  afflicted  them 
the  more  they  multiplied  and  grew."  Puritanism 
was  not  originally  opposed  to  prelacy  as  a  form  of 
church  government;  the  Puritans  would  have  ac- 
cepted it  in  a  modified  form ;  nor  were  they  opposed 
to  a  liturgy  as  such.  But  the  intolerance  of  the 
bishops,  their  preference  for  Roman  Catholic  rites 
and  ceremonies,  and  their  close  alliance  with  despot- 
ism in  civil  government  widened  the  breach  between 
the  parties.  James's  attempt  to  establish  Episcopacy 
in  the  Church  of  Scotland  aroused  the  sturdy  Presby- 
terians of  that  country  to  the  verge  of  rebellion,  and 
led  to  a  closer  sympathy  between  them  and  the  suf- 
fering Puritans  of  England. 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  65 

There  was  also  another  cause  which  contributed 
largely  to  the  growth  of  the  Puritan  party,  and  se- 
cured for  it  finally  the  sympathy  and  co-operation 
of  the  masses  of  the  people.  It  was  the  encroach- 
ments of  the  throne  upon  their  civil  liberties — the 
attempt  to  rob  them  of  their  constitutional  rights. 
Indeed,  such  was  the  condition  of  affairs  at  this  time 
that  it  is  impossible  to  draw  a  definite  boundary-line 
between  the  great  political  and  religious  questions  at 
issue.  Each  involved  the  other.  The  king  was  by 
law  the  head  of  the  church  as  well  as  of  the  state ; 
and  in  both  of  these  positions  he  claimed  despotic 
powers  for  himself  James  was  a  fanatical  believer 
in  the  doctrine  of  absolute  monarchy.  He  looked 
upon  himself  as  a  second  providence  on  earth,  the 
fountain  of  all  power,  at  liberty  to  make  or  unmake 
his  subjects  according  to  his  own  pleasure,  and  ac- 
countable to  none  but  God  for  his  actions.  The  peo- 
ple had  no  rights,  but  only  privileges  such  as  the 
throne  might  choose  to  grant.  To  doubt  the  correct- 
ness of  these  notions  was  in  his  judgment  blasphemy 
and  treason.  Naturally,  his  attempt  to  govern  in 
accordance  with  these  opinions  led  to  a  conflict  with 
the  people,  who  were  proud  of  their  ancient  liberties 
and  chartered  rights.  The  outlook  for  the  reforma- 
tion of  the  church  and  for  the  interests  of  civil  liberty 
at  the  time  of  the  death  of  James  I.,  which  took  place 
April  27,  1625,  was  most  gloomy  and  depressing. 
There  was   prevailing  discontent  with  the  govern- 


66  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

ment  and  a  growing  apprehension  that  the  Anglican 
Church  would  again  come  under  the  control  of  the 
papacy.  Nor  was  this  condition  improved  by  the 
accession  of  Charles  I.  to  the  throne.  An  abler  man 
than  his  father,  he  had  inherited  his  extravagant 
notions  of  kingly  prerogatives ;  but  what  with  James 
was  a  theory  which  he  was  too  cowardly  to  press  to 
logical  results,  was  with  his  son  a  principle  on  which 
he  was  ready  to  risk  his  throne  and  life.  Obstinate 
and  determined  in  his  purposes,  yet  treacherous  and 
unprincipled  in  his  methods  of  accomplishing  them, 
he  sought  to  establish  in  England,  in  defiance  of  its 
Parliament  and  Constitution,  a  despotism  like  that 
which  Richelieu  fastened  on  France.  Petitions  of  rights 
scornfully  rejected,  taxes  levied  without  authority, 
forced  loans.  Parliament  after  Parliament  defied  and 
dissolved  because  it  refused  to  submit  to  the  royal 
dictation,  its  patriotic  members  fined  and  imprisoned, 
showed  that  Charles  at  least  had  the  courage  of  his 
convictions.  At  last  came  the  eleven  years  in  which 
the  king  reigned  without  a  parliament,  a  period  in 
which  his  plans  and  purposes  were  so  fully  developed 
that  the  conflict  between  the  throne  asserting  its  des- 
potic prerogatives  and  the  commonwealth  fighting 
for  its  liberties  could  no  longer  be  avoided.  As 
tyranny  always  does,  Charles  himself  prepared  the 
way  for  the  convulsions  that  overturned  his  throne. 
Two  historic  figures  come  in  view  in  connection  with 
the  king ;  one  is  Thomas  Wentworth,  Earl  of  Straf- 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  67 

ford,  his  most  trusted  counsellor  and  minister  in 
political  and  military  affairs  ;  the  other,  Archbishop 
Laud,  Primate  of  the  Church.  Both  were  men  of 
extraordinary  ability  and  energy,  both  equally  de- 
voted to  the  cause  of  absolutism,  and  both  fated  to 
expiate  their  folly  on  the  scaffold. 

What  Strafford  attempted  to  do  with  his  policy  of 
"  Thorough  "  in  the  State,  Laud  attempted  to  do  in 
the  Church.  Both  succeeded  in  intensifying  the  op- 
position and  in  increasmg  the  number  and  determi- 
nation of  the  friends  of  civil  and  religious  liberty. 
Laud,  by  his  foolish  attempt  to  force  Episcopacy  and 
a  Romanized  ritual  upon  the  Church  of  Scotland, 
aroused  that  kingdom  to  take  arms  in  defense  of  its 
liberties.  The  insane  demand  of  tyranny  and  big- 
otry was  answered  by  the  signing  of  the  Solemn 
League  and  Covenant  in  Greyfriars'  church-yard. 
Presbyterian  Scotland  rallied  around  the  blue  ban- 
ner of  the  covenant  in  defense  of  the  crown  rights 
of  King  Jesus  and  the  liberties  of  his  Church. 
Equally  irritating  were  Laud's  attempts  to  enforce 
conformity  to  his  mandates  in  England.  He  was 
fond  of  gorgeous  ceremonials,  cared  little  for  preach- 
ing, believed  in  sacramentarianism,  was  an  Arminian 
in  his  theology,  hated  dissent  and  non-conformity 
with  a  perfect  hatred,  and  claimed  for  the  bishops 
the  reverence  and  submission  due  to  a  superior  and 
a  divinely  appointed  order  in  the  Church.  In  short, 
as  Macaulay  testifies,  "  of  all  the  Anglican  bishops, 


68  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

he  had  departed  farthest  from  the  Reformation  and 
drawn  nearest  to  Rome."  Under  his  direction  every 
part  of  the  realm  was  investigated,  and  all  Dissenters 
and  Non-conformists  visited  with  severe  punishment. 
The  case  of  Dr.  Alexander  Leighton,  father  of  the 
future  archbishop,  tried  and  condemned  by  the  in- 
famous Star  Chamber  process,  illustrates  his  method 
of  procedure.  Dr.  Leighton  had  written  a  pamphlet 
in  favor  of  Presbyterianism  and  against  prelacy.  For 
this  offense  he  was  imprisoned  and  degraded  from 
holy  orders.  Escaping  from  prison  he  was  retaken, 
publicly  whipped,  exposed  to  the  pillory,  one  ear  cut 
off,  his  nose  slit,  and  his  cheek  branded  with  the  letters 
S.  S.,  meaning  "  a  stirrer  up  of  sedition."  After  this  he 
was  sent  to  prison  for  ten  years.  It  is  easy  to  see 
how  such  actions  increased  popular  feeling  against 
the  Church,  and  led  to  corresponding  extremes  on 
the  part  of  the  Puritans.  Some,  indeed,  despairing 
of  better  times  and  anxious  to  escape  from  the  intoler- 
able tyranny,  left  England  to  find  a  refuge  and  free- 
dom of  conscience  in  the  colonies  of  the  New  World. 
The  great  mass  of  the  Puritans  stood  doggedly  in 
their  lot,  and  grew  more  determined  and  extreme  in 
their  antagonism.  Always  caring  more  for  the  spirit 
of  worship  than  about  its  forms,  they  now  came  to 
hate  religious  ceremonies.  They  were  as  zealous 
against  conformit}^  as  the  prelatical  party  were  for  it. 
Their  ministers  made  it  a  matter  of  conscience  to 
wear  the  black  gown  instead  of  the  surplice,  and  to 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  69 

omit  certain  portions  of  the  liturgy.  The  people 
would  not  give  the  responses,  they  would  sit  when 
they  ought  to  stand,  and  stand  when  the  ritual  re- 
quired them  to  kneel,  or  remain  erect  when  they 
should  bow.  Honest  convictions,  patriotism,  fanati- 
cism, resentment,  hatred  of  despotism,  and  religious 
zeal  were  all  mingled  together  in  one  stream  of  feel- 
ing, that  would  soon  grow  into  the  violence  of  a 
torrent. 

Through  the  vigorous  efibrts  of  Strafford  and  Laud 
the  government  of  England  was  now  as  despotic  in  ^ 
method  and  action  as  that  of  France  under  Louis 
XIV.  But  it  lacked  an  element  of  permanence — an 
army.  The  necessity  for  money  and  an  army  to  sup- 
due  the  outbreak  in  Presbyterian  Scotland  compelled 
Charles  to  convoke  another  parliament.  Accord- 
ingly in  November,  1G40,  there  met  that  renowned 
Parliament  which  as  Macaulay  says,  "  In  spite  of  its 
errors  and  disasters,  is  justly  entitled  to  the  reverence 
and  gratitude  of  all  who  in  any  part  of  the  world  en- 
joy the  blessings  of  constitutional  government."  It 
fairly  represented  the  great  heart  of  the  English  peo- 
ple, irritated  and  angry,  yet  true  to  righteousness, 
and  determined  to  stand  by  the  liberties  of  the  nation. 
This  is  not  the  time,  even  if  it  were  possible,  to  relate 
in  detail  its  proceedings.  Enough  to  state  that  its 
first  step  was  to  remove  crying  abuses,  sweep  away 
Star  Chamber  and  High  Commission,  bring  the 
instruments  of  tyranny  to  justice,  and   restrict  tlie 


70  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

powers  of  the  king.  At  the  same  time  its  attention 
was  turned  to  ecclesiastical  affairs.  Religious  liberty, 
or  relief  from  the  despotism  of  prelacy,  was  one  of  the 
crying  needs  of  the  hour.  Men  could  not  forget  what 
they  had  suffered  for  conscience  sake  under  the  tyran- 
nical and  inquisitorial  proceedings  of  Laud.  The 
Primate  was  imprisoned  in  the  Tower,  and  measures 
were  proposed  for  the  revision  of  the  liturgy  of  the 
Church.  It  is  idle  to  speculate  as  to  what  might 
have  taken  place  had  moderate  counsels  prevailed  at 
this  juncture.  It  is  sufficient  to  say  that  the  folly  or 
panic  of  the  bishops  and  the  obstinacy  and  perfidy 
of  the  king,  wrought  together  with  Puritan  zeal  and 
fanaticism  to  hasten  the  end.  Never  were  more  con- 
scientious or  abler  representatives  of  the  people  gath- 
ered together  than  were  to  be  found  in  this  Parlia- 
ment. That  they  committed  excesses,  which  cooler 
judgment  cannot  justify,  is  true.  But  what  they  in 
the  main  demanded  in  behalf  of  civil  and  religious 
liberty  was  reasonable,  and  is  now  accepted  by  all  as 
just.  Step  by  step  the}''  were  led  to  adopt  measures 
which  they  had  not  intended  at  first.  They  were, 
without  knowing  it,  in  the  swift  current  of  a  revolu- 
tion. In  1G42  Charles,  infuriated  by  the  action  of 
Parliament,  left  London  and  shortly  after  raised  the 
royal  standard  to  rally  his  followers  in  defense  of  the 
throne.  Civil  war  had  come  with  all  its  horrors  and 
distractions.  England,  from  one  end  to  the  other, 
was  filled  with  alarm   and   confusion.     There  was 


/ 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  71 

much  marching  and  countermarching,  much  fight- 
ing and  praying  and  fasting  and  preaching  and 
singing  of  Psahns.  Prince  Rupert  and  his  fiery 
troopers  riding  up  and  down  the  land,  Essex  with 
his  sturdy  militia,  and  Cromwell  with  his  Psalm- 
singing  Ironsides,  furnish  the  main  figures  in  the 
war-scenes.  In  the  meantime  Parliament  continued 
its  sessions,  ever  growing  more  radical  in  its  measures. 
In  1G43  a  bill  was  introduced  and  passed  for  the  utter 
abolition  of  Episcopacy.  Parliament  had  reached 
this  conclusion,  "That  this  government  by  arch- 
bishops, bishops,  their  chancellors  and  commissaries, 
deans  and  chapters,  arch-deacons  and  other  ecclesi- 
astical officers  depending  upon  the  hierarchy,  is  evil, 
and  justly  offensive  and  burdensome  to  the  kingdom, 
a  great  impediment  to  the  reformation  and  growth 
of  religion,  very  prejudicial  to  the  state  and  govern- 
ment of  this  kingdom  and  that  we  are  resolved  that 
the  same  should  be  taken  away."  This  was  speedily 
followed  in  the  same  year  by  an  ordinance  command- 
ing that  an  assembly  of  divines  should  be  convened 
at  Westminster,  "  For  the  settling  of  the  government 
and  liturgy  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  for  vindi- 
cating and  clearing  of  the  doctrines  of  the  said  Church 
from  false  aspersions  and  interpretations,  as  should 
be  found  most  agreeable  to  the  word  of  God,  and  most 
apt  to  procure  and  preserve  the  peace  of  the  Church 
at  home,  and  nearer  agreement  with  the  Church  of 
Scotland  and  other  Reformed  churches  abroad."     So 


72  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

began  the  famous  Westminster  Assembly.  It  was 
called,  not  to  theoretical  discussions,  but  to  an  in- 
tensely practical  work.  The  old  form  of  the  national 
church  had  been  set  aside,  a  new  one  must  be  speedily 
constructed.  The  Assembly,  in  its  work,  was  to 
listen  not  to  the  voice  of  tradition,  or  to  the  com- 
mands of  hierarchies,  or  to  human  wisdom,  but 
solely  to  the  Word  of  God.  It  is  not  easy  to  exagger- 
ate the  critical  and  exciting  character  of  the  years 
during  which  it  held  its  sessions.  Upon  the  removal 
of  the  restraints  of  despotism,  new  views  and  doctrines 
with  regard  to  both  civil  and  religious  affairs  were 
earnestly  promulgated.  There  were  the  Levellers, 
the  Fifth  Monarchy  Men,  the  Socinians,  the  Anti- 
nomians,  the  Quakers,  the  Erastians,  and  the  Inde- 
pendents, the  Radicals  of  that  day,  as  well  as  Presby- 
terians and  Episcopalians.  The  opening  sermon  of 
the  Assembly  from  the  text,  "  I  will  not  leave  you 
comfortless,  I  will  come  to  you,"  and  its  frequent  days 
of  fasting  and  prayer  show  that  it  appreciated  the 
seriousness  of  its  position  and  felt  the  evil  of  the 
times.  During  these  same  years  public  feeling  was 
wrought  up  to  the  highest  pitch  by  the  events  of  the 
Civil  War.  There  were  alternations  of  hope  and  de- 
spair, as  victory  or  defeat  attended  the  forces  of  Par- 
liament. There  were  riots,  incipient  insurrections, 
contentions  between  factions  and  insurgents,  defec- 
tions, and  bloody  executions.  There  were  battles 
such  as  Marston  Moor  and  Naseby.    At  last  th^  Roy- 


x^ 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  73 

alists  were  utterly  defeated,  the  king  imprisoned, 
tried,  and  executed ;  the  mouarcliy  abolished  and 
the  commonwealth  triumphantly  established  by  mili- 
tary power.  In  short,  the  Assembly  held  its  sessions  I^ 
in  the  midst  of  a  great  revokition  ;  but  it  was  a  revo- 
lution with  a  conscience.  No  reader  of  history  can 
fail  to  notice  the  contrast  between  it  and  another  that 
took  place  a  little  more  than  a  century  later  in 
France.  It  also  was  a  fierce  protest  against  a  crush- 
ing despotism  ;  a  frantic  uprising  of  the  outraged 
people  against  their  robber  ruler.  It,  too,  for  a  time 
overturned  the  throne  and  the  established  church. 
But  what  a  difference  between  the  French  National 
Assembly  and  the  English  Long  Parliament;  between 
the  so-called  worship  of  reason  and  the  Westminster 
Confession  and  Directory  for  worship  ;  between  Jacob- 
ins and  Puritans.  The  men  who  wrote  in  the  declar- 
ation of  their  faith  that  cardinal  doctrine  of  liberty, 
"  God  alone  is  Lord  of  the  conscience,"  as  a  witness 
against  all  tyranny,  also  held  the  deeper  and  funda- 
mental truth  that  God  is  Lord  of  the  conscience,  and 
that  true  liberty  is  obedience  to  him.  It  does  not 
belong  to  me  to  vindicate  the  agreement  of  the  work 
of  the  Assembly  with  the  teachings  of  Holy  Scrip- 
ture ;  but  certain  it  is  that  it  wrote  the  great  religious 
creed  of  democracy.  Its  doctrines  and  its  polity  are 
vitally  allied  to  both  civil  and  ecclesiastical  liberty. 
It  is  a  fact  of  history  that  the  men  who  have  held 
that  Confession  have  ever  been  the  foes  of  despotism 


74  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

and  the  friends  of  freedom.  Whatever  may  be  the 
future  of  the  Confession,  one  thing  we  can  safely  say, 
it  will  never  be  the  creed  of  a  despotic  government, 
of  a  priest-ridden  church,  or  of  an  enslaved  people. 
It  would  be  a  false  and  misleading  view  of  the  civil 
and  religious  condition  of  the  times  of  the  Westmin- 
ster Assembly  to  attribute  all  the  virtue,  patriotism, 
and  purity  of  principle  of  that  day  to  the  Puritans, 
and  all  the  intolerance,  irreligion,  and  wickedness 
to  the  Royalists.  He  would  be  a  rash  man  who 
would  attempt  to  justify  all  the  acts  of  the  Parliamen- 
tary party.  Revolutions  like  earthquakes  are  not 
careful  to  respect  the  Ten  Commandments.  The  men 
of  that  day  who  rose  up  in  behalf  of  civil  and  relig- 
ious liberty,  saw  more  clearly  the  evils  of  the  despot- 
ism they  hated,  than  they  did  the  right  application 
of  their  own  principles.  They  saw  as  did  the  half- 
healed  blind  man  when  he  beheld  "  men "  as  trees 
"walking."  They  had  not  yet  purged  themselves 
of  that  religious  intolerance  which  they  condemned 
in  others.  Like  the  fiery  sons  of  Zebedee,  they  were 
ready  to  call  down  fire  from  heaven  upon  those  who 
did  not  share  their  faith.  Parliament  was  as  ready 
to  demand  and  enforce  conformity  to  the  new  Direc- 
tory for  Worship  as  the  Prelatists  had  been  in  behalf 
of  the  "  Book  of  Prayer."  True,  some  souls  with  clearer 
vision  held  such  sentiments  as  Dr.  Cudworth  uttered 
in  his  sermon  before  the  House  of  Commons :  "  The 
golden  beams  of  truth  and  the  silken  cords  of  love 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  75 

twisted  together  will  draw  men  on  with  a  sweet  vio- 
lence, whether  they  will  or  no.  Let  us  take  heed 
that  we  do  not  sometimes  call  that  zeal  for  God  and 
his  Gospel  which  is  nothing  else  but  our  own  temp- 
tations and  stormy  passions.  True  zeal  is  a  sweet, 
heavenly,  and  gentle  flame,  which  makes  us  active 
for  God,  but  always  within  the  sphere  of  love.  It 
never  calls  for  fire  from  heaven  to  consume  those  that 
differ  a  little  from  us  in  their  apprehensions.  It  is 
like  that  kind  of  lightning  which  the  philosophers 
speak  of,  which  melts  the  sword  within,  but  singeth 
not  the  scabbard.  It  strives  to  save  the  soul,  but 
hurteth  not  the  body."  But  more  believed  in  the 
necessity  and  efficacy  of  Acts  of  Parliament,  in  order 
to  keep  men  within  the  bounds  of  true  religion  and 
to  suppress  dissent.  Accordingly,  the  original  chap- 
ter on  the  Civil  Magistrate,  which  in  later  times  has 
been  amended,  expressed  the  prevailing  views  of  that 
age.  We  can  readil}'  see  their  defects,  but  we  cannot 
cast  a  stone  at  these  beginners  in  the  school  of  free- 
dom. Religious  tolerance  is  a  hard  lesson  to  learn, 
and  it  is  questionable  if  even  in  our  own  times  we 
fully  understand  it  or  are  ready  in  all  things  to 
apply  it. 

In  another  way  also  the  Westminster  Standards 
bear  the  mark  of  the  times  in  which  they  were  writ- 
ten. They  speak  with  the  accent  of  conviction. 
There  is  no  trace  of  doubt  or  hesitancy  in  them. 
They  express  the  faith,  not  of  doubters  or  critical 


76  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

investigators,  at  best  uncertain  of  their  conclusions, 
but  of  martyrs  and  confessors  of  whom  the  world  was 
not  worthy.  That  was  an  age  of  intense  convictions ; 
truth  was  not  an  abstraction,  but  a  solemn  reality 
affecting  the  daily  conduct  of  life.  The  doctrines 
and  principles  recorded  in  the  Confession  had  been 
tested  and  purified  in  the  fires  of  controversy  and 
forged  into  shape  by  master  hands.  Call  that  age 
rude,  coarse,  and  violent,  if  you  will,  and  so  it  was  in 
some  respects ;  but  out  of  it  has  come  a  statement  of 
high  spiritual  doctrine  that  still  remains  with  us,  like 
some  pure  spirit  in  paradise,  purified  by  its  sufferings 
and  delivered  from  the  weaknesses  and  infirmities  of 
the  mortal  body  in  which  it  once  dwelt. 

We  are  prone  to  boast  of  the  marvellous  progress 
and  intellectual  activity  of  this  nineteenth  century, 
and  of  the  inheritance  it  is  ready  to  transmit  to  the 
new  one  now  dawning.  But  the  period  of  which  I 
speak  will  not  sufl:er  in  comparison  with  it.  Take  as 
a  central  poiut  the  year  1620,  in  which  Old  Colony 
was  founded  on  the  shores  of  New  England,  and  with 
a  radius  thirty  years  long  describe  a  circle  of  time. 
Its  circumference  will  hold  a  period  that  could  easily 
be  embraced  within  the  memory  of  one  man  living 
in  that  age.  Yet  within  it  are  men,  and  women,  and 
events,  that  rank  in  historic  importance  with  the  most 
notable  in  our  own  century.  On  that  stage  of  time 
may  be  seen  a  goodly  company  of  the  chief  and  ever 
to  be  remembered  actors  in  the  great  drama  of  his- 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  77 

tory.  There  are  Queen  Elizabeth,  Cromwell,  Pym, 
and  Hampden  among  rulers  and  patriots;  Spenser, 
Shakespeare,  Benjamin  Johnson,  John  Milton,  Dry- 
den,  and  George  Herbert  among  the  poets;  Hobbs, 
Lord  Bacon,  Locke,  and  Sir  Isaac  Newton  among  the 
philosophers;  Thos.  Fuller,  Lord  Clarendon,  Burton, 
and  Isaac  Walton  among  the  writers ;  Richard 
Hooker,  Ralph  Cudworth,  Tillotson,  Barrows,  John 
Howe,  John  Bunyan,  John  Owens,  Richard  Baxter, 
Jeremy  Taylor,  and  Bishop  Ussher  among  the  preach- 
ers and  theologians.  It  was  an  era  of  great  men. 
When  the  time  comes  that  we  can  discard  as  inferior 
productions  "  The  Faery  Queen,"  "  Macbeth,"  "  Para- 
dise Lost,"  "  Pilgrim's  Progress,"  the  works  of  Bacon 
and  Locke,  and  the  writings  of  the  Puritan  theolog- 
ians, because  they  belong  to  the  seventeenth  century, 
then,  but  not  till  then,  can  we  brand  the  Confession 
of  Faith  as  inferior  because  it  belongs  to  the  same 
age.  What  changes  and  convulsions  may  be  before 
us  I  am  not  wise  enough  to  foretell ;  but  of  this,  in 
the  light  of  history,  I  am  confident :  should  ever  the 
time  come  when  the  liberties  of  the  people  are  as- 
sailed, either  on  the  one  side  by  civil  and  ecclesiasti- 
cal despotism,  or  on  the  other  by  anarchy  and  license, 
they  will  find  no  clearer  declaration  of  their  sacred 
rights,  and  no  better  rock  on  w^hich  to  plant  their  feet 
in  their  defense,  than  the  Westminster  Confession  of 
Faith. 


Icrusalcm  C^amkr,  ffilcstminstcr  ^bbfg. 


The  Assembly  met  here  after  leaving^  Henry  VI  Is 
Chapel  towards  the  end  of  1G43.  Principal  Baillte  in 
his  Letters  describes  the  Chamber  as  it  was  occupied  by 
the  Assembly.  It  is  a  fair  room,  well  hung,  wider  at  the 
end  nearer  the  door,  and  on  both  sides  are  stages  of  seats 
with  room  for  100  or  120  persons.  At  the  further  end 
is  a  chair  set  on  a  frame  a  foot  from  the  floor,  for  the 
Prolocutor,  Dr.  Twisse.  Before  it,  on  the  floor,  are  two 
chau's  for  the  Assessors,  Dr.  Burges  and  Mr.  Whtie. 
From  these  chairs  through  the  length  of  the  room  stands 
a  table  at  which  the  Scribes,  Mr.  Byfield  and  IMr. 
RoBOKOUGH,  sit.  Along  the  table  at  Dr.  Twisse  s  right 
hand  are  tlu-eeor  four  ranks  of  seats;  the  Commissioners 
from  the  Church  of  Scotland  occupy  the  lowest  rank,  and 
beliind  them  are  the  members  of  tlie  House  of  Commons. 
After  a  break  the  scats  ai-e  continued  beyond  on  the 
same  side  of  the  table  and  along  its  end,  and  from  the 
fii-eplace  to  the  end  of  the  table  at  Dr.  Twisse's  left  hand. 
All  these  are  occupied  by  the  Divines.  From  the  fire- 
place to  the  door,  where  there  are  no  seats,  chairs  are 
set  for  the  use  of  the  Loi'ds  who  were  appointed  to  sit 
in  the  Assembly.  In  this  room  the  great  works  of  the 
Assembly  were  produced. 


THE   STORY   OF   THE   WESTMINSTER 
ASSEMBLY. 

BY  THE 

Rev.  GEORGE  NORCROSS,  D.  D., 

PASTOR   OF   THE   SECOND   PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH, 
CARLISLE,    PENNA. 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  WESTMINSTER 
ASSEMBLY. 

BY    THE 

Rev.  GEORGE  NORCROSS,  D.D., 

PASTOR   OF    THE   SECOND    PRESBYTERIAN   CHITRCH, 
CARLISLE,   PENNA. 


One  hundred  years  had  passed  away  since  England 
had  broken  with  the  pope.  The  leaven  of  God's  pure 
Word  had  done  its  work.  The  nation  was  no  longer 
satisfied  w4th  partial  reforms. 

Of  late  the  superstition,  bigotr}^,  and  intolerance 
of  Laud  and  his  followers  urging  on  the  despotic 
spirit  of  the  king  had  made  the  situation  intolerable. 
The  patience  of  the  English  people  was  completely 
exhausted.  The  patriotism  of  the  nation  was 
thoroughly  aroused.  It  was  evident  to  every  man 
of  Puritan  instincts  that  prelacy  must  be  abolished 
and  the  royal  prerogative  limited,  or  not  a  vestige  of 
civil  and  religious  liberty  would  be  left  to  the  English 
people. 

You  have  already  heard  to-day  how  they  made  the 
noble  choice,  how  they  elected  a  parliament  inspired 

6  81 


82  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

with  the  best  impulses  of  the  English  people  for  re- 
form, how  they  passed  an  act  abolishing  prelacy  and 
thereby  leveled  to  the  ground  "  the  stately  and  pom- 
pous fabric  of  Episcopacy,"  how  they  summoned  an 
Assembly  of  Divines  for  the  reformation  of  the 
Church,  and  invited  the  co-operation  of  Scotland  in 
a  work  that  might  lead  to  uniformity  in  religion 
between  the  two  kingdoms  and  thereby  tend  to  secure 
the  religious  liberty  of  both. 

Actuated  by  that  spirit  of  dissimulation  which 
was  so  natural  to  the  king,  he  had  at  first  pretended 
to  favor  a  conference  of  leading  divines  for  the 
consideration  of  reforms.  His  subsequent  conduct 
showed  the  hollowness  of  his  professions.  After  many 
fruitless  efforts  to  secure  his  co-operation  the  Parlia- 
ment decided  to  act  without  him. 

The  English  people  were  bent  on  radical  reforms 
both  in  Church  and  State.  Even  the  conservative 
House  of  Lords  was  deeply  imbued  with  the  Puritan 
tendency  of  the  times.  It  is  but  fair  to  state  that 
this  whole  movement  began  within  the  English 
Church  itself. 

We  are  not  to  think  of  the  Puritans  as  a  sect  of  dis- 
senters ;  they  were  in  fact  the  evangelical  clergy  of 
the  Church  of  England,  with  their  friends  among 
the  laity.  These  Westminster  divines  with  scarce 
an  exception  were  all  in  Episcopal  orders,  educated 
in  their  own  universities,  and  most  of  them  graduates. 
If  they  were  sick  of  the  hierarchy  and  "weary  of 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  83 

the  skeleton  of  a  Mass-Book,"  as  Milton  declared,  it 
was  because  they  had  caught  sight  of  a  better  way  in 
the  careful  study  of  apostolic  usage. 

I  have  been  asked  to  tell  the  story^^f  the  West- 
minster Assembly.  This  naturally  begins  with  the 
selection  of  the  men  who  were  to  assist  the  Parliament 
in  so  grave  a  task  as  the  reformation  of  the  Church. 
The  first  choice  of  members  for  the  Assembly  showed 
the  fairness  and  impartiality  of  Parliament.  Their 
selection  included  men  of  all  shades  of  opinion  on 
the  burning  questions  of  the  hour,  except  the  advo- 
cates of  Laud's  Romanizing  methods. 

In  the  original  ordinance  four  bishops  were  named, 
and  of  the  others  called  at  the  same  time  five  became 
bishops  afterward.  The  list  of  names  in  the  origi- 
nal Ordinance  amounts  to  151  in  all,  namely,  10 
Lords  and  20  Commoners,  as  lay-assessors,  and  121 
divines.  But  of  these  only  69  appeared  the  first  day, 
and  generally  the  attendance  seems  to  have  ranged 
between  60  and  80.  About  25  declined  attending 
because  the  king  forbade  their  meeting  for  the 
purposes  mentioned  in  the  parliamentary  ordi- 
nance, and  thus  the  Episcopal  party  was  not  as  well 
represented  in  the  Assembly  as  the  Parliament  had 
intended. 

The  Assembly  of  Divines  met  in  Westminster 
Abbey  on  the  first  day  of  July,  1643.  It  was  opened 
with  a  sermon  by  the  prolocutor.  Rev.  Wm.  Twisse, 
D.  D.,  from  the  text,  "  I  will  not  leave  you  comfort- 


84  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

less."  The  Assembly  was  then  organized  in  the 
chapel  of  Henry  VII.,  where  its  first  sessions  were 
held,  but  finding  the  place  uncomfortably  cold  as  the 
season  advanced,  the  Assembly  removed  to  the 
Jerusalem  Chamber,  a  room  of  peculiar  historic  in- 
terest, "where,"  as  Dean  Stanley  avers,  "twice  over 
the  majestic  language  of  the  English  Bible  has  been 
revised."  Here  the  Assembly  wrought  patiently 
until  its  great  work  was  accomplished. 

This  meeting  of  divines  was  originally  called  to 
reform  the  Government  and  Liturgy  of  the  Church 
of  England  and  to  vindicate  and  clear  its  doctrines 
"from  all  false  aspersions  and  misconstructions." 
The  real  meaning  of  this  last  phrase  was  to  so 
interpret  or  hedge  the  Thirty-nine  Articles,  as  to 
render  them  incapable  of  the  Romish  gloss,  which 
Laud  in  that  day  and  Pusey  and  his  associates 
in  our  own  have  imposed  upon  them.  The  indefi- 
niteness  of  statement  which  is  sometimes  vaunted 
as  an  excellence  in  the  Thirty-nine  Articles  was 
evidently  not  so  regarded  by  the  leading  spirits  of 
that  age. 

But  the  Civil  War  was  making  history  fast,  and 
the  mission  of  the  Assembly  was  soon  extended  and 
elevated  into  the  preparation  of  a  common  Confession 
of  Faith,  Directory  for  Worship,  Form  of  Govern- 
ment, and  Public  Catechism  for  the  churches  of  the 
three  kingdoms.  This  ideal  of  what  was  requisite 
for  a  thoroughly  reformed  church  seems  to  have  been 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  85 

first  suggested  by  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Scotch 
Church. 

In  the  conflict  which  the  Parliament  was  waging 
against  King  Charles  I.  victory  at  first  perched  on 
the  banners  of  the  royal  cause.  Chastened  by  these 
reverses,  the  Parliament  sought  a  closer  alliance 
with  the  people  and  the  Kirk  of  Scotland.  Com- 
missioners from  the  English  Parliament  and  from 
the  Westminster  Assembly,  were  sent  to  Edin- 
burgh to  make  friendly  overtures  and  seek  a  closer 
alliance.  The  pathetic  account  which  they  gave  of 
affairs  in  the  English  Church  touched  all  hearts  and 
is  said  to  have  drawn  tears  from  the  eyes  of  the  sym- 
pathetic Scots. 

The  intention  of  the  English  commissioners  to 
Scotland  was  only  to  effect  a  civil  league,  but  the 
Scotch  leaders,  knowing  how  much  religion  was  in- 
volved in  the  quarrel,  would  hear  of  nothing  short 
of  a  struggle  for  the  purification  of  the  Church  and 
the  union  of  the  three  kingdoms  in  a  common  faith. 
The  result  was  the  "  Solemn  League  and  Covenant," 
which  became  a  religious  and  political  bond  between 
the  two  kingdoms  and  a  potent  factor  in  all  the 
subsequent  history  of  the  times. 

The  Solemn  League  and  Covenant  bound  all  who 
accepted  its  terms  to  sincerel}^  and  constantly  seek 
the  preservation  of  the  reformed  religion  in  the 
Church  of  Scotland,  in  doctrine,  worship,  discipline, 
and  government;  the  reformation  of  religion  in  the 

12 


86  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

kingdoms  of  England  and  Ireland  "  according  to  the 
Word  of  God  and  the  example  of  the  best  reformed 
churches ; "  and  to  an  effort  to  bring  the  churches  of 
the  three  kingdoms  into  uniformity  "  in  religion, 
Confession  of  Faith,  Form  of  Church  Government, 
Directory  for  Worship,  and  Catechising."  The  Cov- 
enanters also  pledged  themselves  to  the  extirpation 
of  popery  and  prelacy. 

As  a  result  of  this  union  with  the  people  and 
Kirk  of  Scotland,  the  Scottish  Commissioners  came  to 
the  Assembly,  and  though  they  did  not  accept  a 
voting  power  in  its  deliberations,  it  is  admitted  by 
all  that  they  exerted  a  very  commanding  influence 
on  its  final  decisions. 

The  most  conspicuous  character  among  them  was 
Alexander  Henderson,  the  author  of  the  Solemn 
League  and  Covenant,  and  confessedly  the  greatest  man 
in  the  Church  of  Scotland  since  the  days  of  John  Knox. 
Beside  him  stood  Samuel  Rutherfurd,  both  learned 
and  saintly,  one  of  the  most  impressive  preachers  of 
his  time,  who  was  twice  invited  to  a  theological  chair 
in  Holland.  With  them  came  George  Gillespie^ 
the  darling  of  Scotland,  the  prince  of  disputants,  who 
"  with  the  fire  of  youth  had  the  wisdom  of  age,"  and 
Robert  Baillie,  whose  graphic  "  Letters "  remain  to 
this  day  the  most  vivid  picture  of  the  Assembly  and 
its  times  in  our  possession.  With  these  ministers 
were  associated  as  ruling  elders  the  venerable  and 
eloquent  Johnstone  of  Warriston  and   the  youthful 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  87 

but  courteous  Lord  Maitland,  afterward  the  Earl  of 
Lauderdale.  Others  were  appointed  who  seem  never 
to  have  taken  their  seats,  but  these  six  went  to  Lon- 
don and  were  duly  accredited  by  act  of  Parliament 
and  given  seats  in  the  Assembly. 

After  more  than  a  hundred  years  of  American 
freedom,  it  may  seem  strange  to  many  of  us  that  the 
great  Assembly  of  Westminster  was  only  the  creature 
of  the  Parliament.  It  was  merely  asked  to  give 
"humble  advice"  to  the  popular  power  that  had 
called  it  into  existence.  It  was  denounced,  repudi- 
ated, and  threatened  by  the  king,  but  there  it  ex- 
pected nothing.  From  the  dominant  Puritan  party 
which  had  elected  the  Long  Parliament,  and  from 
that  patriotic  body  itself,  the  Assembly  had  the  right 
to  expect  at  least  courtesy  and  reverence ;  but  the 
event  proved  that  having  grasped  the  unscriptural 
powers  of  the  king  as  head  of  the  Church,  the  Parlia- 
ment was  slow  to  yield  the  point  of  its  own  infalli- 
bility. 

It  is  difficult  for  us  to  understand  the  religious 
ferment  of  the  time.  It  was  a  period  of  spiritual 
revival,  and  the  new  wine  of  truth  burst  the  old 
bottles  of  custom.  The  public  mind  had  been 
greatly  exasperated  by  the  spiritual  despotism  of 
Laud,  who  had  made  himself  hateful  by  his  cruel- 
ties and  ridiculous  by  his  apings  of  popery.  L^nfor- 
tunately  the  reformation  in  England  during  the 
former   century   had   been  conducted   by  the   court 


88  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

and  the  hierarchy.  Its  foundations  had  been  laid 
along  the  lines  of  political  expediency  rather  than 
scriptural  teaching.  But  the  light  of  the  written 
Word  had  fallen  on  the  conscience  of  the  Church,  and 
it  was  ill  at  ease. 

For  long  years  the  self-willed  king  had  tried  to 
rule  without  a  parliament,  but  finally  he  had  come  to 
the  end  of  his  tether  in  that  direction.  He  had  re- 
luctantly summoned  a  parliament,  and  that  body 
proved  to  be  "  the  most  religious  political  assembly 
that  ever  met  in  or  out  of  England."  The  popular 
will  as  expressed  in  the  vote  of  the  Long  Parliament 
declared  that  the  Church  of  England  must  be  re- 
formed. 

It  should  never  be  forgotten  that  the  Puritan 
movement  was  in  the  Church  itself  The  West- 
minster divines  with  a  few  exceptions  had  received 
Episcopal  ordination,  had  been  trained  in  the  use  of 
the  Prayer  Book,  had  submitted  to  the  domination 
of  the  State  in  spiritual  matters,  had  been  taught 
that  the  king  was  the  head  of  the  Church,  and  that 
the  highest  duty  of  the  subject  was  passive  obedience. 
But  the  day  of  reckoning  had  come;  the  people  pro- 
posed that  all  these  high  claims  should  be  brought 
to  the  test  of  God's  Word.  Whatever  could  bear 
that  test  might  stand,  but  all  the  rest  must  be  brought 
into  conformity  with  the  divine  pattern  which  is  re- 
vealed in  the  holy  oracles  of  God. 

It  was   in   this   spirit   that  every  member  of  the 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  89 

Assembly  was  required  to  make  the  following  vow  or 
protestation  before  he  could  sit  in  the  Assembly : 

"I  do  seriously  promise  and  vow,  in  the  presence 
of  Almighty  God,  that  in  this  Assembly,  whereof 
I  am  a  member,  I  will  maintain  nothing  in  point 
of  doctrine  but  what  I  believe  to  be  most  agree- 
able to  the  Word  of  God ;  nor  in  point  of  disci- 
pline, but  what  I  shall  conceive  to  conduce  most  to 
the  glory  of  God  and  the  good  and  peace  of  his 
Church." 

This  vow,  which  had  almost  the  sanctity  of  an  oath, 
"  was  appointed  to  be  read  afresh  every  Monday 
morning  that  its  solemn  influence  might  be  constantly 
felt." 

And  here  we  might  well  make  a  study  of  the 
leading  men  in  the  Assembly,  but  this  has  been  as- 
signed to  another  speaker. 

The  first  work  laid  to  their  hand  by  Parliament 
was  the  revision  of  the  Thirty-nine  Articles.  While 
the  notes  of  members  and  the  minutes  of  the  As- 
sembly give  us  only  a  meager  outline  of  the  range 
of  debate,  we  know  that  many  questions  raised  were 
discussed  with  great  minuteness  and  critical  acumen, 
but  with  that  prolixity  which  afterward  so  wearied 
the  patience  of  the  Scotch  Commissioners,  who  con- 
fessed the  ability  of  the  speakers,  but  chafed  under 
the  "  longsomeness  "  of  their  methods. 

It  was  during  these  debates  that  the  Scotch  Commis- 
sioners arrived  and  took  their  seats.     Immediately 


90  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

after  this,  namely,  on  September  25, 1643,  the  Solemn 
League  and  Covenant  was  taken  with  all  solemnity 
by  both  Houses  of  Parliament  and  the  Assembly,  in 
St.  IMargaret's  Church,  Westminster,  a  little  church 
w^hich  still  stands  almost  under  the  shadow  of  the 
great  Abbey.  Lightfoot  gives  a  very  graphic  account 
of  the  scene  in  his  "  Journal."  The  oath  to  the  Cov- 
enant was  taken  with  uplifted  hands,  after  which  all 
went  into  the  chancel  and  subscribed  their  names  to 
this  immortal  document. 

But  to  resume  with  the  work  of  the  Assembly : 
before  the  12th  of  October  the  Assembly  had  revised 
fifteen  of  the  Articles  and  were  proceeding  with  the 
sixteenth,  when  they  were  abruptly  ordered  by  Parlia- 
ment to  take  in  hand  the  Government  and  Liturgy 
of  the  Church.  These  early  debates  on  the  great 
fundamentals  of  religion  did  little  more  than  dis- 
cover the  spirit  of  the  Assembly,  show  who  were  the 
talking  members,  and  reveal  the  herculean  task  which 
the  theological  spirit  of  the  times  had  laid  upon 
these  venerable  fathers. 

With  the  consideration  of  Government  and  Wor- 
ship began  what  has  been  called  "  the  war  of  the 
giants."  On  the  subject  of  Doctrine  the  Assembly 
was  practically  a  unit.  These  godly  divines  were  all 
Calvinists.  If  there  was  an  Arminian  among  them, 
he  neither  peeped  nor  muttered.  It  was  the  theo- 
centric  doctrine  of  Paul,  Augustine,  Wycliffe,  and 
Calvin,  which  inspired  the  people  of  England  in  all 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  91 

the  days  of  their  noble  struggle  for  civil  and  religious 
liberty. 

The  Church  of  England  was  in  all  its  best  elements 
as  intensely  Calvinistic  as  the  Presbyterians  of  Scot- 
land or  the  Huguenots  of  the  Continent.  Therefore 
the  Assembly  had  not  been  called  together  to  formu- 
late a  creed.  Even  the  most  zealous  of  the  Puritans 
accepted  the  system  taught  in  the  Thirty-nine  Arti- 
cles. They  were  asked  to  vindicate  and  clear  the 
same  "  from  all  false  aspersions  and  misconstructions." 
This  they  would  have  done,  gladly,  but  "  the  logic  of 
events "  finally  swept  them  forward  into  a  much 
larger  undertaking.  They  were  destined  to  produce 
a  system  of  doctrine,  polity,  and  worship  which  after 
two  hundred  and  fifty  years  of  turmoil  and  criticism 
still  needs  but  little  revision. 

It  was,  however,  when  they  approached  the  subject 
of  Church  Government  that  differences  of  opinion 
became  emphatic.  This  diversity  ran  all  the  way 
from  Episcopacy  on  the  one  hand  to  Independency 
on  the  other.  Nine-tenths  of  the  whole  body  were  at 
heart  Presbyterians,  many  were  willing  to  go  the 
whole  length  of  a  jure  divino  claim  for  Presbytery, 
but  a  large  minority  only  insisted  that  the  system  is 
scriptural  and  expedient,  while  they  were  willing  to 
say  that  neither  papacy,  prelacy,  nor  independency 
is  to  be  found  in  the  Bible. 

With  singular  unanimity  the  Reformers  had 
reached  the  conclusion  that  Presbytery  was  the  govern- 


92  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

ment  established  by  the  apostles  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment Church.  The  overwhelming  majority  of  the 
Westminster  fathers  under  the  sanction  of  an  oath 
professed  the  same  conclusion.  But  when  did  all 
the  Church  see  eye  to  eye  on  such  a  question  ? 

It  has  been  customary  to  describe  the  Westminster 
Assembly  as  made  up  of  three  parties,  the  Presbyter- 
ians, the  Independents,  and  the  Erastians. 

The  Presbyterians  were  in  the  majority  and  gained 
strength  as  the  discussion  advanced.  Their  scheme 
is  based  on  the  New  Testament  principle  that  bishops 
and  presbyters  are  identical,  and  that  the  Church  is 
a  unit,  and  has  the  right  of  self-government  by  a 
series  of  representative  judicatories  composed  of 
clerical  and  lay  members.  The  system  is  republican 
in  spirit,  avoiding  the  perils  of  democracy  on  the  one 
hand,  and  the  evils  of  oligarchy  on  the  other.  It  had 
been  adopted  in  the  Reformed  Churches  on  the  Con- 
tinent where  it  was  possible,  and  had  been  worked 
for  nearly  a  hundred  years  in  Scotland,  where  it  had 
recently  enjoyed  a  signal  triumph. 

For  twelve  years  England  had  been  governed 
without  a  parliament.  The  people  now  proposed  to 
be  heard.  Men  were  walking  the  streets  of  London 
with  noses  slit  and  ears  cropped,  the  marks  of  the 
paternal  interest  of  Archbishop  Laud  in  the  thorough 
discipline  of  his  spiritual  children.  The  people  had 
made  up  their  minds  to  be  done  forever  with  prelati- 
cal  pretensions.     Even  before  the  Assembly  met  the 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  93 

bishops  had  been  turned  out  of  the  House  of  Lords, 
a  measure  to  which  the  king  had  given  his  reluctant 
consent.  The  English  people  naturally  turned  to  the 
other  Reformed  Churches  for  their  model,  and  these 
Churches  were  confessedly  Presbyterian. 

In  Scotland  the  Presbyterian  Church  had  shown 
itself  the  friend  of  the  people,  and  had  presented  a 
bold  front  to  the  despotic  spirit  of  the  king  and  the 
half-popish  system  of  the  cruel  and  bigoted  Laud. 
A  people  who  were  smarting  under  the  tyranny  of 
the  Star  Chamber  and  Bishop's  Courts  of  High  Com- 
mission, were  naturally  favorable  to  a  system  in  which 
the  people  had  a  voice.  The  Assembly  proved  to  be 
overwhelmingly  Presbyterian. 

A  second  party  was  the  Independents.  These  were 
few  in  number,  but  ably  led  by  Dr.  Thomas  Godwin 
and  the  Rev.  Philip  Nye.  They  were  called  "  the  five 
dissenting  brethren  "  by  the  Presbyterians,  from  the 
plausible  "  Apologetical  Narration  "  which  they  offered 
to  Parliament,  after  they  had  made  a  long  and  fac- 
tious opposition  to  the  majority  of  the  Assembly. 

Some  of  these  brethren  had  been  driven  to  Holland 
by  the  spiritual  despotism  of  Laud,  and  their  ex- 
perience while  in  exile  with  single  congregations  of 
their  expatriated  countrymen,  led  them  to  attach 
undue  importance  to  an  independent  church,  and 
they  were  not  in  sympathy  with  the  wider  plans 
of  those  who  sought  for  national  uniformity. 

Though  never  numbering  more  than  twelve  mem- 


94  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

bers,  the  Independents  were  able  to  retard  the  final 
decision  of  the  Assembly,  carry  on  an  intrigue  with 
Cromwell  and  the  army,  foster  the  growth  of  fanatical 
sectaries  in  the  country,  and  finally  defeat  the  prac- 
tical adoption  of  Presbytery  in  England.  Perhaps  the 
explanation  is  to  be  found  in  the  words  of  Dr.  Schaff : 
"Independency  ...  is  preferred  by  the  English 
mind  because  it  comes  nearer  to  Episcopacy,  in 
making  each  pastor  a  bishop  in  his  own  congre- 
gation." 

It  is  often  claimed  by  their  descendants  that  the 
Independents  were  the  first  to  advocate  toleration. 
But  to  this  it  may  be  replied  that  they  were  in  the 
minority,  and  were  only  asking  to  be  let  alone  and 
to  go  on  with  their  own  divisive  schemes,  and  that 
when  they  established  their  system  in  New  England 
they  made  it  very  uncomfortable  for  the  Quakers, 
Baptists,  and  others  who  differed  with  them.  The 
sweet  spirit  of  toleration  was  not  very  well  under- 
stood in  that  age  by  any  party ;  and  no  one  who 
takes  the  trouble  to  study  the  long  and  weary  de- 
bates of  the  Assembly  will  conclude  that  the  Inde- 
pendents had  a  monopoly  of  the  meekness  and  charity 
there  exhibited. 

A  third  party  in  the  Assembly  was  the  Erastian, 
so  called  from  Erastus,  a  physician  of  Heidelberg, 
and  later  of  Basel,  who  wrote  a  book  which  was  pub- 
lished after  his  death,  in  which  he  denied  the  right 
of  church  officers  to  excommunicate.     These  men  dis- 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  95 

sented  from  the  grand  proposition  of  the  Assembly, 
that,  "  The  Lord  Jesus,  as  King  and  Head  of  His 
Church,  hath  therein  appointed  a  government  in 
the  hand  of  Church-officers,  distinct  from  the  Civil 
Magistrate."  On  the  contrary,  they  wished  to  make 
the  Church  only  a  department  of  the  State,  and 
maintained  that  all  Church  government  ought  to 
be  in  the  hands  of  the  civil  rulers.  They  denied 
that  any  particular  form  of  Church  government 
was  prescribed  in  the  New  Testament,  and  claimed 
for  the  State  the  right  to  establish  such  form  as  might 
seem  most  expedient. 

Only  two  ministers.  Dr.  Lightfoot  and  Mr.  Coleman, 
were  decidedly  Erastians,  but  a  considerable  number 
of  the  lay-assessors,  chiefly  lawyers,  were  advocates 
of  this  secular  policy.  Insignificant  as  this  party 
was  in  point  of  numbers,  it  derived  importance  from 
the  reputation  for  Hebrew  and  rabbinical  learning 
enjo3'ed  by  some  of  its  members — Lightfoot,  Coleman, 
and  "  the  learned  Selden  " — and  still  more  from  the 
powerful  support  the  party  received  from  Parliament, 
most  of  whom,  according  to  Baillie,  were  "  down- 
right Erastians."  "  The  pope  and  the  king,"  says 
this  lively  chronicler,  "  were  never  more  earnest  for 
the  headship  of  the  Church  than  the  plurality  of 
this  Parliament." 

The  evils  of  spiritual  despotism  were  so  many  and 
so  flagrant  in  that  age,  that  it  is  not  strange  many 
sought  the  remedy  in  the  subjection  of  the  Church 


96  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

to  the  State.  This  was  the  practical  solution  of  all 
their  difficulties  at  the  time  of  the  Restoration,  when 
Charles  II.  was  allowed  to  place  his  licentious  foot  on 
the  neck  of  the  j^rostrate  Church.  But  such  a  settle- 
ment never  lasts,  and  the  English  Church  of  this 
century  has  been  passing  through  the  convulsions  of 
revolution,  simply  because  her  sons  to-day  are  not 
willing  to  abide  by  the  Erastian  principles  which 
satisfied  their  fathers  in  the  middle  of  the  17th 
century.  The  whole  Anglo-Catholic  movement  of 
our  times  began  in  a  protest  against  the  subjection  \/ 
of  the  Church  of  Christ  to  the  domination  of  Caesar. 
And  here  a  loyal  Presbyterian  could  join  hands  with 
John  Henry  Newman  and  the  Oxford  school ;  but 
we  would  soon  have  to  part  company  when  they  \\ 
start  toward  Rome  to  find  spiritual  independence. 
It  is  poor  policy  to  try  to  escape  from  one  usurpation 
by  falling  into  another  and  a  worse  one. 

Time  will  not  permit  a  full  account  of  the  several 
steps  which  led  to  the  adoption  of  the  "  Form  of 
Government "  as  it  finally  passed  the  Assembly.  Its 
Presbyterian  principles  had  to  run  the  gauntlet  be- 
tween the  Independents  and  the  Erastians.  The 
debates  were  long  and  tough.  Every  premise  was 
measured  and  every  word  in  definition  was  weighed ; 
every  argument  was  sifted  and  every  proof-text  was 
traced  back  through  the  versions  to  the  original 
Scriptures.  There  were  honest  difficulties  to  be  met 
and  captious  objections  to  be  answered.     But  finally 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  97 

the  system  was  painfully  wrought  out  and  the  proof- 
texts  selected  and  the  Form  of  Church  Government 
and  Directory  for  Ordination  was  laid  before  Parlia- 
ment. As  a  whole,  it  never  was  adopted  by  the  civil 
authority  of  England,  but  on  February  10,  1645,  it 
was  accepted  and  adopted  by  the  General  Assembly 
of  the  Scotch  Church. 

Another  subject  submitted  to  the  Assembly  at  the 
same  time  was  that  of  "Liturgy."  The  "Direc- 
tory for  Public  Worship  "  was  the  first  of  the  formu- 
laries which  the  Westminster  fathers  prepared  and 
completed  according  to  the  terms  of  their  Solemn 
League  and  Covenant.  The  promptness  with  which 
this  work  was  accomplished  points  significantly  to 
the  fact  that  here  the  Westminster  divines  were 
far  more  united  than  on  the  subject  of  church 
government. 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  theoretical  views  of 
these  men  as  to  the  lawfulness  of  an  optional  liturgy 
leaving  room  for  free  prayer,  all  were  prepared  in  the 
interest  of  peace  and  Christian  Union  "  to  lay  aside 
the  former  liturgy,  with  the  many  rites  and  ceremo- 
nies formerly  used  in  the  worship  of  God,"  and  adopt 
a  simple  Directory  as  a  guide  and  help  to  the  minister 
in  the  various  parts  of  public  worship. 

The  privilege  of  free  prayer  was  greatly  appre- 
ciated at  this  time,  and  wonderful  gifts  in  that  direc- 
tion were  soon  discovered  among  the  members.  We 
smile  at  the  mention  of  prayers  one  or  two  hours 

7 


98  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

long,  but  we  should  remember  that  these  men  were 
exulting  in  a  new-found  liberty,  and  rejoicing  that 
they  were  no  longer  "  under  tutors  and  governors  " 
when  approaching  "  the  throne  of  grace." 

And  so,  though  there  were  keen  debates  about 
certain  details — as  to  what  profession  of  faith  should 
be  exacted  from  a  parent  when  presenting  his  child 
for  baptism ;  as  to  the  qualifications  to  be  required 
of  those  admitted  to  the  sealing  ordinances  of  the 
Church,  and  as  to  the  exact  position  to  be  taken  in 
the  act  of  observing  the  Lord's  Supper ;  yet  the  work 
of  preparing  the  Directory  for  Worship  went  on  with 
far  greater  harmon}-^  than  that  of  settling  the  Form 
of  Church  Government,  or  agreeing  as  to  the  princi- 
ples and  methods  of  Ordination. 

That  the  Prayer  Book  was  to  be  laid  aside  was 
evidently  a  foregone  conclusion  from  the  beginning. 
The  Preface  to  the  Directory,  which  is  still  retained 
in  the  standards  of  the  Scotch  and  Irish  Churches, 
but  has  been  revised  out  of  our  American  Book, 
argues  stoutly  against  the  use  of  a  liturgy. 

That  Preface  begins  by  conceding  that  "  in  the 
beginning  of  the  blessed  reformation  our  wise  and 
pious  ancestors"  had  done  much  to  correct  many 
things  which  "  by  the  Word  "  they  had  "  discovered 
to  be  vain,  erroneous,  superstitious,  and  idolatrous  in 
the  public  worship  of  God."  It  goes  on  to  recite  some 
of  the  benefits  which  had  come  to  the  Church  in  the 
Book  of  Common  Prayer — that  "  the  mass  and  the 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  99 

rest  of  the  Latin  service "  had  been  removed,  that 
"the  public  worship  was  celebrated  in  our  own 
tongue,"  and  that  many  of  the  common  people  had 
received  the  benefit  of  "  hearing  the  Scriptures  read 
in  their  own  language."  It  confesses  that  these 
things  had  caused  "  many  godly  and  learned  men  to 
rejoice  much  in  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer." 

But  if  all  this  is  heartily  admitted,  it  is  only  to 
prepare  the  way  for  the  strong  indictment  against 
"  the  Service  Book  "  which  follows.  The  Westminster 
fathers  testify  that  "  long  and  sad  experience  hath 
made  it  manifest  that  the  liturgy  used  in  the  Church 
of  England  (notwithstanding  all  the  pains  and  relig- 
ious intentions  of  the  compilers  of  it)  hath  proved  an 
offence,  not  only  to  many  of  the  godly  at  home,  but 
also  to  the  reformed  churches  abroad."  They  go  on 
to  assert  that  the  Prayer  Book  contains  "  many  un- 
profitable and  burdensome  ceremonies,"  that  its 
glorification  by  "  the  prelates  and  their  faction  "  had 
been  a  "great  hindrance  to  the  preaching  of  the 
AVord,"  that  of  late  in  some  places,  it  had  pushed 
preaching  out  as  "unnecessary,  or,  at  best,  as  far  in- 
ferior to  the  reading  of  common  prayer,"  and  that 
joining  in  this  service  had  been  made  "no  better  than 
an  idol  by  many  ignorant  and  superstitious  people." 

All  this  was  bad  enough,  but  the  gravest  objection 
was  against  the  system  itself.  They  testified  "  that 
the  liturgy  hath  been  a  great  means  ...  to  make 
and  increase  an  idle  and  unedifying  ministry,  which 


100  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

contented  itself  with  set  forms  made  to  their  hands 
by  others,  without  putting  forth  themselves  to  exer- 
cise the  gift  of  prayer,  with  which  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  pleaseth  to  furnish  all  his  servants  whom  he 
calls  to  that  office." 

In  summing  up  their  argument  against  the  Prayer 
Book,  they  declare  that  "  upon  these  and  many  the 
like  weighty  considerations  in  reference  to  the  whole 
book  in  general,  and  because  of  diverse  particulars 
contained  in  it  .  .  .  we  have  .  .  .  resolved  to  lay 
aside  the  former  liturgy,  with  the  many  rites  and 
ceremonies  formerly  used  in  the  worship  of  God,  and 
have  agreed  upon  this  following  Directory  for  all  the 
parts  of  public  worship." 

This  radical  reformation  has  controlled  the 
churches  accepting  the  Westminster  Standards  ever 
since.  From  that  day  to  this  the  Presbyterian  Church 
has  been  non-liturgical.  At  the  time  of  the  Restora- 
tion, the  Presbyterian  party  seemed  to  be  willing,  for 
the  sake  of  peace,  to  make  some  concessions  to  the 
lovers  of  the  Prayer  Book ;  but  when  they  were  com- 
pelled to  go  out  from  the  Established  Church,  the 
Non-Conformists  did  not  make  a  revised  Prayer  Book 
for  themselves.  On  the  contrary,  they  remained  true 
to  the  position  of  the  Westminster  Assembly,  and 
practised  the  liberty  of  free  prayer.  The  same  is 
true  of  the  American  Church.  Here  and  there  a 
voice  may  have  been  raised  in  deprecation  of  a  care- 
less and  perfunctory  service  of  prayer  in  Presbyterian 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  101 

worship ;  here  and  there  a  formalist  may  have  pro- 
posed a  return  to  liturgical  methods,  but  the  Church 
has  remained  firm.  The  apostolic  doctrine  that  the 
people  of  God  are  "  a  royal  priesthood  "  full  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  and  of  power  to  do  their  own  praying,  has 
remained  our  birthright  as  Presbyterians  to  this  day. 

Perhaps  before  leaving  this  subject  of  worship  a 
word  should  be  said  concerning  the  metrical  version 
of  the  Psalms,  which  as  "  altered  and  amended  "  was 
recommended  "  to  be  publicly  sung." 

Mr.  Francis  Rous  was  a  member  of  Parliament 
and  a  lay-assessor  in  the  Assembly.  His  metrical 
version  of  the  Psalter  was  referred  to  the  Assembly 
for  examination  and  approval.  It  was  carefully  read 
in  the  public  sessions  of  the  body,  and  after  receiving 
some  emendations,  was  recommended  as  "useful  and 
profitable  to  the  Church."  The  House  of  Commons 
in  consequence  resolved  "  that  this  Book  of  Psalms 
set  forth  by  Mr.  Rous,  and  perused  by  the  Assembly 
of  Divines,  be  forthwith  printed." 

As  is  well  known,  this  version  became  very  dear  to 
the  Churches  of  Scotland,  and  a  badge  of  orthodoxy 
to  many  of  their  successors  in  America.  It  is  now 
almost  wholly  supplanted  in  the  Churches  of  this 
country,  but  people  are  still  living  who  love  and 
cherish  the  rugged  strength  of  Rous's  version. 

The  last  subject  of  general  importance  on  which 
the  labors  of  the  Assembly  were  expended  was  a 
"  Public   Catechism."     There   had   been  no   end   of 


102  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

private  catechisms,  for  the  careful  indoctrination  of 
the  young  was  a  thought  familiar  and  grateful  to  the 
Puritan  mind. 

All  the  reformers  had  shown  their  sense  of  its  im- 
portance either  by  writing  catechisms  or  making  a 
diligent  use  of  those  composed  by  others.  It  is  not 
generally  known  how  much  thought  and  effort  had 
been  expended  already  in  England  on  the  subject  of 
catechetical  instruction.  Dr.  Mitchell,  who  has  made 
a  study  of  the  Westminster  Assembly  and  its  times, 
declares  as  to  the  "  floods "  of  catechisms  already 
published  by  the  Puritans,  that  their  name  was 
legion. 

The  subject  of  a  catechism  was  one  of  the  first  to 
receive  the  attention  of  the  Assembly,  and  as  this 
part  of  their  work  was  the  last  to  be  finished,  it  is 
but  fair  to  conclude  that  the  task  was  found  to  be  one 
of  considerable  difficulty.  But  it  can  be  justly  said, 
in  view  of  the  result,  that  here  the  Westminster 
divines  attained  their  greatest  triumph.  The  Shorter 
Catechism,  which  was  finished  last,  is  the  consummate 
flower  of  all  their  labors. 

The  whole  subject  seems  to  have  been  first  con- 
sidered by  a  committee  of  which  the  "  gracious  and 
learned  little  Palmer,"  as  Baillie  calls  him,  was  the 
chairman.  This  Herbert  Palmer  had  the  reputation 
of  being  "  the  best  catechist  in  England."  He  was 
the  author  of  a  catechism  which  had  gone  through 
several  editions,  and  he  had  a  peculiar  method  of 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  103 

liis  own  to  which  he  was  much  attached,  and  which 
seems  to  have  won  the  approval  of  the  Scotch  Com- 
missioners, though  it  met  with  opposition  in  the 
Assembly.  Months  and  years  were  spent  at  the  task, 
but  still  the  result  was  unsatisfactory.  If  ever  George 
Gillespie  was  asked  to  pray  for  light  and  help  in  the 
definition  of  God,  as  a  well-known  tradition  reports, 
it  must  have  been  during  these  labors ;  for  he  was  in 
his  grave  when  the  Shorter  Catechism  was  composed. 
Finally,  when  the  work  seemed  almost  accomplished^ 
the  Assembly  fell  into  such  "  endless  janglings  about 
both  the  method  and  the  matter,"  says  Baillie,  "  that 
all  think  it  will  be  longsome  work." 

The  expedient  of  composing  two  catechisms  was 
a  thought  which  dawned  slowly  on  the  minds  of  the 
Assembly.  In  a  letter  of  the  Scotch  Commissioners 
to  their  own  Church  which  bears  evidence  of  being 
from  the  hand  of  Rutherfurd,  they  say  :  "  The  Assem- 
bly of  Divines,  after  they  had  made  some  progress 
in  the  catechism  which  was  brought  in  to  them  from 
their  committee,  and  having  found  it  very  difficult 
to  satisfy  themselves  or  the  world  with  one  form  of 
catechism,  or  to  dress  up  milk  and  meat  both  in  one 
dish,  have,  after  second  thoughts,  recommitted  the 
work,  that  two  forms  of  catechism  may  be  prepared, 
one  more  exact  and  comprehensive;  another  more 
easie  and  short  for  new  beginners."  And  so  it  was 
arranged  that  we  have  become  the  heirs  of  a  Larger 
and  a  Sliorter  Catechism. 


104  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

The  definitions  of  the  Larger  Catechism  are  in 
a  great  measure  abridged  from  the  Confession  of 
Faith,  though  traces  of  matter  derived  from  other 
sources  may  be  found  in  it.  This  monumental  work 
was  finished  October  15,  1647,  and  shortly  after 
was  carried  up  to  the  two  Houses  by  the  prolocutor 
and  the  whole  Assembly,  when  they  were  formally 
thanked  "  for  their  great  labor  and  pains  in  compiling 
this  Long  Catechism." 

The  Shorter  Catechism  was  not  composed  till  after 
the  Larger  one  had  been  virtually  completed.  On 
the  5th  of  August,  1647,  it  was  resolved  that  the 
Shorter  Catechism  should  be  taken  in  hand  "by  a 
committee  now  to  be  chosen."  Mr.  Herbert  Palmer 
was  made  the  convener  of  this  committee,  of  which 
the  prolocutor  was  nominally  the  chairman. 

As  the  work  on  this,  "  the  ripest  fruit  of  the  Assem- 
bly's thought  and  experience,"  was  mainly  done  in 
committee,  we  cannot  trace  the  various  steps  by 
which  it  was  brought  to  its  present  perfection.  But 
this  we  do  know,  that  Mr.  Palmer  died  soon  after 
the  appointment  of  the  committee,  that  Henderson 
and  Gillespie  had  both  gone  home  to  Scotland  and 
there  passed  to  their  reward,  and  that  Baillie  also 
had  returned  and  was  busy  with  his  professorship 
in  Glasgow.  Only  Rutherfurd  remained,  and  he  was 
longing  to  be  released,  as  he  "  did  not  think  the  elab- 
oration of  this  catechism  of  sufficient  importance  to 
detain  him  from    his   college   and   his  flock   at   St. 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  105 

Andrews."  But  he  was  persuaded  to  remain  until  it 
had  been  reported  to  the  Assembly,  when  he  took  his 
final  leave.  Before  his  departure  he  suggested  that 
a  record  be  made  in  the  "  Scribe's  Books,"  of  the 
fact  that  the  Assembly  had  enjoyed  the  assistance 
of  the  Commissioners  from  the  Church  of  Scotland, 
during  all  the  time  spent  in  debating  and  perfecting 
the  four  things  mentioned  in  the  Covenant,  viz.,  a 
Directory  for  Worship,  a  Confession  of  Faith,  a  Form 
of  Church  Government,  and  a  Catechism.  The  sug- 
gestion was  approved  by  the  House,  and  the  record 
was  made  in  very  complimentary  terms. 

The  Shorter  Catechism  was  finally  finished  and 
the  great  work  of  the  Assembly  was  done,  but  it  was 
not  formally  dissolved.  On  February  22,  1649,  the 
Assembly  was  changed  into  a  committee  for  conduct- 
ing the  trial  and  examination  of  ministers.  Many 
of  the  members  had  gone  home,  but  those  who 
remained  continued  to  act  as  a  Church  Court  for 
the  conduct  of  matters  ecclesiastical,  subject  to  the 
will  of  Parliament. 

As  the  Parliament  never  did  accept  those  parts 
of  the  Confession  of  Faith  which  condemned  Eras- 
tianism,  the  Presbyterians  were  not  willing  to  set  up 
Presbyteries  and  Synods  which  would  be  shorn  of 
all  their  Scriptural  powers,  and  as  neither  party 
would  yield,  there  was  a  dead-lock  and  it  was  a  time 
of  great  confusion.  Prelacy  had  been  abolished  by 
law,  the  Prayer  Book  had  been  laid  aside  by  act  of 


106  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

Parliament,  the  old  system  was  under  the  ban  of  the 
acting  government,  but  Presbyteries  and  Synods  were 
not  organized ;  and  finally  the  heavy  hand  of  the 
dictator,  Cromwell,  cut  the  Gordian  knot  by  abolish- 
ing the  Parliament,  and  the  Assembl}^  ceased  to  exist 
when  that  popular  branch  of  the  government  thus 
was  set  aside  by  a  military  despotism  ;  for  such  the 
Protectorate  of  Cromwell  was,  however  good  it  may 
have  been  for  the  common  weal  of  Englishmen. 

The  Assembly  had  been  lectured  and  bullied  by 
the  Parliament,  because  it  would  not  say  that  the 
Church  is  merely  a  creature  of  civil  government  and 
a  department  of  the  State,  but  to  their  glory  it  can  be 
affirmed,  that  the  Westminster  fathers  never  quailed 
nor  betrayed  the  truth  as  they  understood  it.  With 
heroic  fortitude  they  had  braved  the  wrath  of  the 
king  and  the  hierarchy  when  at  first  they  attended 
on  the  summons  of  the  Parliament.  With  endless 
patience  they  listened  to  the  arguments  of  Independ- 
ents and  Erastians,  who  combined  to  defeat  the  will 
of  the  majority.  In  dignified  silence  they  endured 
the  pettifogging  taunts  of  Selden's  "  Nine  Queries " 
respecting  ihQ  jure  divino  rights  of  the  Church.  In 
devout  reliance  on  divine  assistance  they  fasted  and 
prayed  and  wrought  and  waited  for  light  from  on 
high,  and  for  the  guidance  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  With 
laborious  painstaking  they  searched  the  Scriptures 
to  find  the  whole  counsel  of  God  on  the  questions 
submitted  to  them  for  their  "  humble  advice."    They 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  107 

did  not "  make  haste,"  but  being  assembled  in  solemn 
session  "  five  years,  six  months,  and  twenty-two  days," 
they  left  on  record  as  the  result  of  their  labors,  the 
most  remarkable  symbols  in  the  possession  of  the 
Christian  Church. 


FUNDAMENTAL  DOCTRINES  OF  THE 

WESTMINSTER   CONFESSION 

AND   CATECHISMS. 

BY    THE 

Rev.  JAMES  D.  MOFFAT,  D.  D.,  LL.  D., 

PRESIDENT   WASHINGTON   AND   JEFFERSON   COLLEGE, 
WASHINGTON,    PENNSYLVANIA. 


FUNDAMENTAL  DOCTRINES  OF  THE  WEST- 
MINSTER CONFESSION  AND  CATECHISMS. 

BY    THE 

Rev.  JAMES  D.  MOFFAT,  D.  D.,  LL.  D., 

PRESIDENT    WASHINGTON    AND   JEFFERSON   COLLEGE, 
WASHINGTON,     PENNSYLVANIA. 


Moderator,  Fathers  and  Brethren: 

If  the  Westminster  standards  were  new  to  the 
world,  my  task  would  require  me  to  set  forth  in 
proper  order  and  in  due  proportion  the  several 
articles  of  faith  defined  in  them;  but  after  two 
hundred  and  fifty  years  of  public  proclamation,  no 
such  recital  in  detail  can  be  needed — much  less  can 
it  be  needed  before  a  representative  body  of  Presby- 
terians. We  may  therefore  confine  our  attention 
somewhat  strictly  to  those  doctrines  which  may  be 
considered  distinctive  or  characteristic. 

We  ought  not,  however,  to  allow  ourselves  to  over- 
look the  fact  that  our  points  of  agreement  with  other 
Protestant  Evangelical  churches  are  more  numerous 
and  more  valuable  than  the  points  wherein  we  differ 
from  tliem.  In  a  general  way,  it  may  be  said  that 
the   Westminister   divines   aimed   at  embodying  in 

111 


112  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

their  creed  pretty  much  all  that  was  of  an  affirma- 
tive character  in  all  the  creeds  of  Christendom  which 
were  then  formulated. 

Approaching  now  that  Calvinistic  system  which  is 
embodied  in  our  standards,  I  recall  two  mathematical 
figures  which  have  been  employed  to  illustrate  how 
our  distinctive  doctrines  have  been  brought  together 
into  a  system.  It  was  an  opponent  of  our  system,  a 
prominent  minister  of  a  sister  church,  who  likened 
our  system  to  a  circle,  inasmuch  as  the  several  doc- 
trines are  held  firmly  together  by  their  common 
relationship  to  the  doctrine  of  divine  sovereignty. 
And  he  added,  that  it  is  useless  to  try  to  break  that 
circle,  held  together  by  the  rigid  logic  by  which  its 
several  parts  are  connected  with  the  undeniable 
supremacy  of  God.  "If  you  do  not  wish  to  accept 
it  as  a  whole,  you  must  simply  ignore  it,  or  cast  it 
aside  as  a  whole.  Arrange  your  doctrines  in  your 
own  way — make  the  evangelical  system  grow  out  of 
the  love  of  God — or  construct  a  system  of  theology 
that  shall  be  Christocentric,  and  let  the  people  of  the 
world  make  their  choice  between  your  system,  and 
the  old,  unbroken,  unbreakable  Calvinistic  system." 

Such  a  mode  of  representing  our  system — which 
I  give  only  in  substance — was  very  gratifying  at  the 
time,  as  indicating  a  loss  of  confidence  on  the  part 
of  an  opponent  in  the  wisdom  of  a  direct  attack  upon 
our  system.  It  was,  moreover,  generally  regarded  as 
a  satisfactory  general  description  of  our  system  of 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  113 

doctrine  as  having  its  center  and  bond  of  union  in 
the  doctrine  of  God's  sovereignty. 

But  another  man  of  prominence,  speaking  from 
within  the  Presbyterian  fold,  proposed  amendment, 
by  suggesting  that  our  system  may  better  be  symbol- 
ized by  the  ellipse.  The  circle  has  a  single  center ; 
the  ellipse  has  two  foci.  The  Westminster  Calvinism 
regards  the  supremacy  of  God  and  the  freedom  of 
man  as  complemental  truths,  and  is  as  loyal  to  the 
latter  doctrine  as  to  the  former  one. 

Both  these  mathematical  symbols  are  after  all  but 
symbols,  each  having  its  ow^n  appropriateness,  and 
both  having  value  as  setting  forth  our  peculiar  system 
for  general  view. 

From  one  point  of  view,  however,  it  w411  not  do  to 
represent  man's  freedom  as  a  co-ordinate  with  God's 
sovereignty,  for  the  freedom  of  man  is  the  gift  of  the 
sovereign  God.  Man  possesses  only  so  much  freedom 
as  God  has  seen  fit  to  bestow  upon  him.  God's 
supremacy  is,  therefore,  a  primary  fact,  and  man's  free- 
dom wholly  dependent  on  it.  The  one  doctrine  is  at 
the  center,  and  the  other  belongs  to  the  circum- 
ference. 

But  from  another  point  of  view,  we  may  treat  the 
two  doctrines  as  side  by  side.  Since  God  has  given 
freedom,  it  is  now  as  truly  a  fact  to  be  reckoned  with 
as  the  divine  sovereignty.  No  interpretation  can 
properly  be  put  upon  the  one  that  logically  compels 
us  to  ignore  or  tone  down  the  other  fact.     God  him- 

8 


114  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

self  respects  his  own  gift,  and  never  exercises  liis 
sovereign  power  in  any  way  to  break  down  that  free- 
dom. The  Confession  of  Faith  expressly  teaches  that 
God's  sovereignty  is  not  of  a  kind  to  "  offer  any  violence 
to  the  will  of  the  creatures,  nor  is  the  liberty  or  contin- 
gency of  second  causes  taken  away,  but  rather  estab- 
lished." Within  the  realm  of  theological  thought 
there  is  no  fact  more  remarkable  than  the  respect 
which  the  sovereign  God  has  ever  shown  to  man's 
limited  freedom.  It  is  indeed  a  limited  freedom 
(commensurate  at  least  with  human  responsibility), 
but  within  this  God-given  limit  man  himself  is  a 
sovereign.  God  has  so  far  respected  his  own  gift  to 
man  that  he  would  not  prevent  the  introduction  of 
sin  in  our  world ;  nor  will  he  interpose  to  cast  it  out 
by  any  exercise  of  power  inconsistent  with  man's 
freedom  ;  and  men  who  prefer  to  sin  may  even  do  so 
eternally. 

Whilst,  therefore,  it  is  certainly  Calvinistic  to  put 
the  doctrine  of  divine  sovereignty  at  the  center  as 
the  ultimate  source  of  everything  else  that  we  value, 
it  is  just  as  good  Calvinism  to  put  alongside  of  it 
the  doctrine  of  human  freedom,  when  once  we  have 
accounted  for  it  as  God's  gift,  and  determined  its 
limitations  as  God  has  ordained  them ;  and  it  is  our 
right — indeed,  it  is  our  duty — to  insist  upon  it  that 
all  interpretations  and  applications  of  Calvinistic 
doctrines,  by  friend  or  foe,  shall  recognize  the  fact 
that  the  two  are  now  co-ordinate.     Considered  meta- 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  115 

physically,  or  in  their  origin,  God's  sovereignty  is 
primal ;  man's  freedom  derived  and  limited.  Con- 
sidered phenomenally,  with  reference  to  the  existing 
order,  one  fact  is  just  as  stubborn  as  the  other,  and 
neither  one  can  be  ignored  without  misconception 
resulting. 

After  this  general  view  of  our  system  of  doctrine, 
let  us  consider  its  principal  details.  I  think  it  can 
be  shown  that  every  distinctive  doctrine  of  our  sys- 
tem grows  out  of  the  endeavor  of  the  Westminster 
Assembly  to  present  the  character  of  God  to  the  in- 
telligent world  as  the  one  complete  and  perfect 
being. 

As  far  as  the  elements  properly  belonging  to  the 
idea  of  sovereignty  are  concerned,  there  is  entire 
agreement  among  all  theists.  That  God  is  the  ulti- 
mate source  of  all  authority,  that  he  is  independent  in 
the  exercise  of  his  authority  and  power,  and  that 
there  is  no  being  to  whom  he  is  accountable  for  the 
ultimate  issue  of  his  acts,  cannot  be  doubted  by  any 
one  who  believes  in  his  existence  and  attaches  an}^ 
meaning  to  the  term  God.  But  in  much  of  our  theo- 
logical discussion  of  God's  sovereignty,  and  in  niuch 
of  the  popular  conception  as  to  what  we  do  believe, 
there  can  be  no  doubt  that  undue  prominence  has 
been  given  to  the  will  of  God.  It  has  been  very  com- 
mon to  speak  of  the  sovereign  will  of  God,  and  so  to 
magnify  the  mere  element  of  will,  the  sheer  power  or 
authority,  as  to  create  feelings  of  repugnance  on  the 


116  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

part  of  many  who  reject  our  creed,  and  induce  in 
those  who  still  accept  it  a  kind  of  fatalistic  submis- 
sion to  the  inevitable.  Under  this  false  emphasis  the 
will  of  God  has  taken  on  the  aspect  of  wilfulness,  and 
the  independence  of  God  has  been  distorted  into  an 
indifference  as  to  what  may  be  the  effect  of  his  de- 
crees upon  his  creatures.  The  true  doctrine,  which 
attributes  sovereignty  to  God's  person,  considered  in 
its  entirety,  thus  becomes  narrowed  to  a  doctrine 
ascribing  sovereignty  to  a  personified  power,  and 
throws  open  the  way  to  the  fear  or  belief  that  this 
power  is  often  arbitrarily  or  capriciously  exercised. 
It  is  possible  to  submit  to  the  will  of  God,  considered 
as  mere  power  or  authority ;  but  if  we  are  to  acqui- 
esce in  that  will,  it  will  have  to  appear  either  to  our 
reason  or  our  faith  as  more  than  authority,  as  an 
expression  of  wisdom  and  goodness. 

The  false  conception  of  Calvinism,  which  has  grown 
up  in  the  minds  of  so  many  Christian  people,  and 
even  in  the  case  of  many  who  have  been  trained  in 
Presbyterian  families,  is  largely  due  to  a  defective 
psychology  belonging  to  the  past  centuries  and  only 
now  passing  away.  It  is  the  psychology  which  has 
distinguished  somewhat  too  sharply  between  the 
faculties  of  intellect,  sensibility,  and  will.  It  is  true, 
indeed,  that  the  older  psychologists  held  firmly  to 
the  unity  and  simplicity  of  the  soul,  and  did  not 
intend  to  represent  the  faculties  as  distinct  organs  of 
mind  ;  but  the  three  so-called  faculties  were  treated 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  117 

separately  and  the  operations  of  eacli  described  with 
little  or  no  reference  to  those  of  tlic  other  faculties,  so 
that  it  is  not  very  strange  that  there  should  be  an 
almost  irresistible  tendency  to  think  of  each  faculty 
as  independent  in  its  activity.  Free  will  has  become 
almost  a  household  term,  and  even  in  theological  dis- 
cussion is  often  so  employed  as  to  suggest  a  measure 
of  independence  of  intellect  and  emotion  quite  incon- 
sistent with  the  facts  of  consciousness.  In  the  later 
psychology,  knowing,  feeling,  and  willing  are  only 
functions  of  the  soul :  nor  are  they  separate  and  inde- 
pendent functions.  They  are  interdependent.  If  any 
retil  state  of  mind  when  active  be  considered,  all  three 
of  these  functions  will  invariably  be  represented ; 
and  our  only  way  of  distinguishing  one  state  of  mind 
from  another  is  by  the  fact  that  one  function  seems  to 
be  more  prominent  than  the  others.  Thus  in  the  ideal 
student's  mind  knowing  is  predominant,  but  his  in- 
tense study  is  due  to  the  activity  of  his  will,  and  this 
activity  is  due  to  the  power  of  his  emotional  nature 
stimulated  by  the  free  play  of  his  intellectual  powers. 
In  the  ideal  business  man  will  may  be  predominant, 
l)ut  his  activity  and  persistence  in  the  prosecution  of 
his  business  are  due  to  the  fact  that  his  heart  is  in 
the  work,  and  has  set  both  intellect  and  will  to  work. 
Will,  in  its  normal  state,  is  never  alone,  never  free 
from  the  influence  of  the  character  of  him  who 
exerts  it.  Willing  is  the  function  of  personality,  and 
with  full  knowledge  on  our  })art  always  indicates  the 


118  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

character  of  him  whose  willing  it  is,  and  indicates 
that  character  because  it  is  determined  by  it. 

With  these  modern  distinctions  in  view,  we  may 
object  to  the  application  of  the  term  sovereign  to  the 
will  of  God,  on  the  ground  that  it  is  the  person  of 
God  which  is  sovereign.  His  will  cannot  fail  to 
manifest  his  character,  for  what  God  knows  and  how 
God  feels,  must  be  thought  of  as  lying  back  of  and 
determining  all  the  choices,  purposes,  and  activities 
of  his  will.  It  is  the  sovereignty  and  supremac}^  of 
God,  the  perfect  being,  the  complete  person,  combin- 
ing harmoniously  in  his  person  all  the  excellencies 
and  perfections  which  can  be  conceived  as  belonging 
to  personality,  which  Calvinism  makes  central  in  its 
teachings,  and  no  mere  almightiness  and  authority. 

I  know  there  are  a  few  phrases  in  our  Confession 
which  seem  to  lend  support  to  the  false  view  I  have 
been  criticizing,  but  they  are  to  be  interpreted  in  the 
light  of  the  fact  that  our  Confession  invariably  traces 
God's  decrees  and  acts,  not  merely  to  his  wdll,  but  to 
some  element  of  his  character,  to  his  goodness,  to  his 
love,  to  his  justice,  to  his  grace.  These  are  all  im- 
pulses of  his  perfect  nature,  which  draw  liim  on  to 
gratify  them  and  thus  give  rise  to  his  eternal  decrees 
and  his  works  in  time. 

It  is  our  contention  that  analysis  of  the  perfect 
character  of  God  will  give  us  the  basis  of  every  dis- 
tinctive doctrine  of  our  Calvinistic  system.  Is  God  a 
rational  being?     Is  he  completely  rational ;  has  rea- 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  119 

son  in  him  reached  its  higliest  conceivable  perfection  ? 
Then  he  must  be  thought  of  by  us  as  looking  ahead, 
planning  the  future,  foreseeing  every  possible  con- 
tingency. He  must  work  according  to  plan.  He 
must  have  some  sufficient  end  in  view.  And  his 
plan  must  embrace  every  detail ;  there  can  be  no 
after-thoughts,  no  unforeseen  contingencies  arising  to 
necessitate  repair  or  change  of  purpose.  We  cannot 
conceive  of  the  ruler  of  this  universe,  who  is  perfect 
as  a  ruler,  being  surprised  by  the  occurrence  of  some 
unforeseen  events.  But  this  is  universal  predestina- 
tion, a  doctrine  designed  to  set  forth  the  completeness 
in  all  respects  with  which  God  governs  his  world  and 
directs  the  course  of  its  progress. 

Is  there  in  God  a  combination  of  varied  powers? 
Is  his  character  broad  enough  to  include  every  trait 
of  personality  which  we  find  entering  into  human 
personality,  with  the  proviso  that  each  trait  in  God's 
personality  has  reached  its  highest  stage  of  perfec- 
tion ?  Surely  no  one  can  withhold  an  affirmative 
answer  to  these  questions.  Then  it  must  be  held  to 
be  extremely  probable  that  there  will  be  some  variety 
of  mode  in  God's  dealing  with  men. 

As  he  is  righteous,  there  can  be  no  doubt  of  his 
dealing  justly  with  all,  holy  and  sinful  alike.  But 
as  God  is  good,  kind,  loving,  these  impulses  must  also 
move  him  to  go  beyond  the  demands  of  justice,  where 
the  law  of  righteousness  does  not  forbid.  And  as 
God  is  gracious,  it  is  not  strange  that  he  should  seek 


120  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

and  find  a  way  of  helping  and  benefiting  the  un- 
worthy. Since  then  our  Calvinism  has  ever  em- 
phasized the  evangelical  doctrine  that  all  men  are 
to  be  dealt  with  either  according  to  the  principles 
of  law  or  according  to  the  principles  of  grace; 
and  that  each  adult  must  make  his  own  choice 
as  to  whether  his  merits  and  demerits  shall  be  con- 
sidered, or  wholly  disregarded  in  order  that  he  may 
rely  on  grace  alone ;  we  have  but  carried  our  concep- 
tion of  God's  character  into  our  interpretation  of  his 
Word  and  our  evangelistic  work. 

It  may  be  going  too  far  to  say  that  our  church  has 
been  more  loyal  than  others  to  the  doctrine  of  the 
Atonement.  But  certainly  Westminster  Calvinism 
has  wavered  less  under  the  assaults  of  rationalism  on 
this  doctrine  than  many  others.  The  stifFest  modes 
of  stating  the  doctrine  have  found  defenders  in  our 
church,  and  zeal  for  this  fundamental  truth  may 
have  carried  some  theologians  too  far.  But  the 
powerful  hold  the  doctrine  has  maintained  upon  men 
loyal  to  the  Westminister  Confession  has  been  due, 
not  only  to  the  clearness  and  earnestness  with  which 
the  doctrine  is  set  forth  in  the  Scriptures,  but  also  to 
its  close  connection  in  our  minds  with  the  character 
of  God  as  we  conceive  it.  Believing  as  we  do  that 
God  is  perfectly  righteous,  we  cannot  think  of  him 
as  otherwise  than  infinitely  more  earnest  than  we 
can  be  in  his  approval  of  all  right-doing  and  his  dis- 
approval of  all  wrong-doing.     Nor  can  we  conceive 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  121 

of  him  as  failing  in  any  degree  to  express  his  ap- 
proval and  his  disapproval  in  his  treatment  of  the  good 
or  the  evil  agents.  Therefore  it  is  simply  inconceiv- 
able to  us,  when  we  fix  our  thought  on  the  perfect 
character  of  God,  that  he  should  ever  forgive  a  sin- 
gle sin  without  an  adequate  expression  of  his  disap- 
jH'oval  of  it.  This  expression  we  find  in  the  death 
of  Jesus  Christ,  and  nowhere  else  can  we  even  look 
for  it. 

But  as  this  expression  would  be  useless  if  sin- 
ful men  did  not  voluntarily  seek  forgiveness  under 
it,  fairness  to  Christ  demanded  that  a  great  multitude 
of  human  beings  should  somehow  be  induced  to  put 
themselves  under  the  operations  of  God's  grace.  But 
this  is  the  doctrine  of  election.  It  grows  out  of  the 
conviction  that  God  is  both  righteous  and  loving,  the 
former  impelling  him  to  secure  to  Jesus  a  sufficient 
reward,  and  the  latter  impelling  him  to  secure  the 
blessings  of  the  Atonement  to  a  great  multitude, 
whom  no  man  can  number.  It  is  the  unmistakable 
fact  that  God  brings  more  gracious  influences  to  bear 
on  some  men  than  on  others  to  lead  them  to  accept 
Christ  as  their  personal  Saviour,  which  lies  at  the 
basis  of,  and  receives  explanation  in,  the  doctrine  of 
election. 

If  now  we  combine  with  God's  love  his  respect  for 
human  freedom,  we  lay  the  foundation  for  the  cor- 
relative doctrine  of  preterition.  I  know  how  easy  it 
is  to  present  these  correlative  doctrines  so  as  to  create 


122  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

an  impression  that  God's  ways  with  men  are  not 
equal.  It  may  even  be  difficult  for  many  who  accept 
the  doctrines  because  they  are  taught  in  the  Scrip- 
tures, to  keep  out  of  the  mind  the  suspicion  that  God 
is  partial  in  a  way  we  do  not  tolerate  in  our  fellow- 
men.  And  I  confess  I  know  of  no  way  to  find  relief 
from  a  suspicion  no  one  of  us  cares  to  entertain,  except 
by  putting  the  doctrine  of  human  freedom  alongside 
that  of  divine  sovereignty,  and  insisting  that  it  be 
given  due  weight.  If  electing  grace  is  not  of  a  char- 
acter to  abridge  freedom,  and  it  certainly  is  not,  then 
preterition  may  be  connected  with  God's  respect  for 
his  own  gift,  and  this  conclusion  follows:  the  elect 
are  willing  to  be  saved  by  grace,  and  the  non-elect 
are  either  unwilling  to  be  saved  from  sin  or  are  not 
willing  to  be  saved  by  grace.  The  line  that  divides  the 
adult  world  into  the  two  classes  of  elect  and  non-elect, 
corresponds  exactly  to  the  line  that  divides  that  same 
world  into  the  willing  and  the  unwilling.  If  we  are 
pressed  to  explain  how  it  comes  about  that  some  are 
willing  and  others  are  unwilling,  we  may  reply  that 
each  individual  case  may  furnish  its  own  reasons, 
which  do  not  admit  of  generalization.  Individual 
experiences  differ  both  before  and  after  acceptance 
of  Christ,  and  each  man  may  give  some  account  of 
his  own  choices.  Or  we  may  fall  back  upon  a  strictly 
Christian  and  philosophical  agnosticism.  We  cannot 
lift  ourselves  outside  of  our  created  universe  and  take 
our  stand  beside  God's  throne  and  explain,  as  from 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  123 

God's  point  of  view,  the  details  of  his  government  of 
free,  intelligent  beings.  It  is  enough  for  us  to  know 
that  for  every  act  of  his  a  sufficient  reason  can  be 
found  in  his  own  perfections,  and  it  is  folly  and  sin 
for  us  to  scale  down  the  loftiest  conception  of  his 
character  we  can  form  or  entertain,  in  order  to  make 
our  earthly  life  somewhat  freer  from  mystery. 

It  is  sometimes  objected  to  our  Confession  that  it 
does  not  give  sufficient  prominence  to  the  love  of 
God.  And  it  has  been  questioned  whether  a  thor- 
oughgoing Calvinist  can  love  the  God  he  pictures  to 
his  mind.  I  shall  not  reply  to  this  question  by  citing 
the  multitudes,  who,  by  patient  endurance  of  perse- 
cutions, and  perseverance  in  missionary  and  philan- 
thropic labor,  have  given  practical  proofs  of  their 
love  of  God.  It  cannot  be  doubted  that  these  mar- 
tyrs and  missionaries  of  the  past,  nerved  themselves 
to  endurance  and  fidelity  by  their  hearty  acceptance 
of  our  fundamental  doctrines.  There  may  be  more 
need  to  show  the  intimate,  but  not  very  apparent, 
connection  which  exists  between  the  Westminster 
conception  of  God  and  a  practical  and  deep-seated 
love  of  God.  You  cannot  induce  men  to  love  God 
by  giving  them  verbal  descriptions  of  his  love,  how- 
ever poetic  your  phraseology  may  be.  There  is  a  way 
of  talking  about  God's  love  that  is  for  most  men  too 
sentimental  to  be  effective.  It  is  not  mere  love  which 
men  crave,  and  men  do  not  value  it  because  of  its 
intensity.     All  love  owes  its  value  to  the  personality 


124  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

which  lies  back  of  it.  No  one  cares  for  the  love  of 
any  being  whom  he  does  not  respect.  True  love  may 
be  generally  defined  as  an  impulse  to  use  one's 
powers  for  the  benefit  of  another  person.  So  far  as 
this  is  a  proper  definition,  it  makes  apparent  that 
the  value  of  any  love  will  be  determined  by  the  per- 
sonal powers  which  are  devoted  to  our  benefit,  and 
the  motive  and  character  of  the  person  who  is  thus 
willing  to  employ  his  powers  in  our  behalf.  We 
actually  turn  away  from  the  proffered  love  of  mean 
and  low  and  vicious  natures.  We  prefer  the  hatred 
of  the  devil  to  his  love,  however  intense  it  might  be. 
The  value  therefore  of  the  simple  proclamation  that 
God  loves  us  lies  in  the  fact  that  it  is  God,  whose 
powers  are  perfect  and  whose  character  is  attractive, 
who  is  declared  to  love.  It  is  not  necessary  that  a 
confession  dwell  upon  the  love,  if  it  sets  before  us 
clearly  and  fully  the  excellencies  and  perfections  of 
his  character.  Let  there  be  chapters  which  set  be- 
fore us  his  wisdom,  power,  righteousness,  providence, 
and  provisions  for  the  salvation  of  sinners,  if  there  be 
but  a  single  clause — "  God  is  love  " — it  is  enough. 
Short  as  the  declaration  is,  it  carries  the  mind  back 
to  all  the  revelation  of  his  personality  and  thus  makes 
the  love  assume  larger  and  larger  proportions.  There 
may  not  be  nmch  of  the  poetic,  the  passionate,  the 
sentimental  in  the  love  kindled  in  the  soul  b}'  a 
sympathetic  study  of  the  Westminster  Confession  and 
Catechisms,  but  it  will  be  intelligent,  permanent,  prac- 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  125 

tical,  and  a  constantly  acting  and  constraining  force 
in  our  daily  life. 

It  is  true  the  Westminster  Confession  emphasizes 
the  condition  of  man,  possibly  to  such  an  extent  as 
to  constitute  a  distinctive  feature.  More  than  any 
other  creed  has  it  elaborated  human  sinfulness  and 
reduced  human  ability  to  its  zero  point.  It  has  even 
seemed  to  some  to  deny  all  ethical  value  to  truthful- 
ness, honesty,  and  kindness  when  practised  by  the 
unregenerate.  So  far  as  this  is  characteristic,  it 
may  seem  to  be  an  exception  to  the  general  statement, 
that  our  distinctive  features  grow  out  of  our  analysis 
of  God's  character.  But  after  all,  it  is  reasonably 
clear  that  this  dark,  black  picture  of  human  nature, 
has  resulted  from  bringing  man  into  judgment  where 
the  standard  is  not  a  human  ideal  of  morality,  but 
the  perfect  righteousness  of  God  himself.  The 
vvorthlessness  of  human  deeds  is  not  based  on  their 
valuation  for  purposes  of  this  life,  but  considered  as 
human  efforts  to  attain  salvation.  And  the  primary 
purpose  of  this  humbling  view  of  man  is  to  magnify 
the  grace  of  God,  to  make  it  clear  that  his  salvation 
is  in  no  degree  based  on  his  own  merit,  and  to  em- 
phasize his  complete  indebtedness  to  God. 

From  the  fact  that  acceptance  of  our  standards  is 
exacted  only  of  our  ministers  and  elders,  and  this 
not  in  all  its  words  and  phrases,  but  as  a  system  of 
doctrines,  it  may  fairly  be  inferred  that  the  main 
purpose  is  to  secure  a  certain  content  in  all  preaching 


126  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

and  teaching.  The  underlying  assumption  seems  to 
be  that  if  this  system  of  doctrine  is  faithfully  preached, 
its  direct  tendency  will  be  to  bring  God  and  man  to- 
gether upon  terms  most  favorable  to  promote  God's 
glory,  and  to  secure  in  man  the  development  of  the 
highest  type  of  Christian  character.  In  order  to  this, 
man  must  be  brought  as  a  humble  suppliant  before 
God,  ready  to  receive  grace,  because  realizing  most 
deeply  his  need  of  it.  But  mere  humility  and  recep- 
tivity will  not  make  a  strong,  active,  persevering 
saint.  All-powerful  faith  and  hope  and  love  must 
be  planted  and  nourished  in  the  soul,  and  these  results 
can  come  only  from  intelligent  convictions  concerning 
the  character  of  God.  Upon  God  rather  than  upon 
his  own  soul  must  man's  attentive  gaze  be  fixed. 
What  we  think  of  ourselves  depends  primarily  on 
what  we  think  of  God.  Self-knowledge  that  is  valu- 
able can  come  to  us  only  as  we  bring  ourselves  in 
contrast  with  God.  And  growth  in  Christian  nobil- 
ity and  eflfective  service  of  our  generation,  according 
to  the  will  of  God,  are  nourished  by  our  increasing 
knowledge  of  God.  Believing  as  I  do  that  the  West- 
minster system  of  doctrine  is  the  outgrowth  of  an 
earnest  and  intelligent  attempt  to  analyze  for  the 
world  the  characteristics  of  the  Most  Perfect  Being,  I 
cannot  but  long  for  a  revival  to  some  extent  of  doc- 
trinal preaching  that  shall  follow  the  general  type 
of  theological  thinking  set  before  us  in  our  standards. 
More  modern  phraseology  and  more  modern  concep- 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  127 

tioiis  may  be  desirable,  but  close  adherence  to  the 
essential  thoughts  of  our  Confession  can  scarcely  fail 
to  give  to  our  Sabbath-day  hearers  a  grander,  nobler, 
truer,  and  more  scriptural  conception  of  God,  than 
many  of  them  are  now  forming  under  a  style  of 
preaching  that  is  better  adajHed  to  give  a  conception 
of  the  character  of  modern  leaders  and  events. 


THE   WESTMINSTER   POLITY   AND 
WORSHIP. 

BY   THE 

Rev.  ROBERT  F.  COYLE,  D.  D. 


THE  WESTMINSTER  POLITY  AND  WORSHIP. 

BY    THE 

Rev.  ROBERT  F.    COYLE,  D.D. 


Moderator,  Fathers,  and  Brethren  : 

The  forces  that  make  history  are  usually  not  con- 
spicuous. The  mightiest  tilings  are  not  those  which 
appeal  to  the  eye  of  sense.  In  this  great  world-drama 
there  are  actors  behind  the  scenes  far  more  potent 
than  those  that  stand  close  up  against  the  foot-lights. 
However  insignificant  they  may  have  seemed  in 
their  time,  and  however  small  may  be  the  space 
allotted  to  them  by  the  mere  secular  historian,  we 
now  know  that  the  battles  fought  in  the  Jerusalem 
Chamber  were  more  significant  than  Naseby  or  Mars- 
ton  Moor.  The  business  which  the  Westminster  As- 
sembly was  set  to  do  was  to  grapple  with  principles, 
by  whose  resistless  force  Cromwell  and  his  Ironsides 
were  pushed  into  immortal  prominence.  It  was  these 
principles  and  what  it  did  with  them,  that  made  the 
Westminster  Assembly  the  most  important  event  of 
the  17th  century. 

The  subject  assigned  to  me  has  to  do  with  the  main 
purpose  for  which  the  Assembly  was  convened.    That 

131 


132  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

purpose  was  to  prepare  such  a  form  of  church  polity 
and  worship  as  might  bring  about  religious  uniform- 
ity in  the  three  kingdoms.  This  according  to  the 
order  of  Parliament,  was  to  take  the  place  of  "  church 
government  by  archbishops,  bishops  and  their  chan- 
cellors, commissaries,  deans  and  chapters,  archdea- 
cons, and  other  ecclesiastical  officers  depending  upon 
the  hierarchy,  which  is  resolved  to  be  taken  away." 

I  am  sure  I  shall  best  serve  the  interests  of  this 
day  and  hour,  not  by  exploiting  the  superiority  of 
the  Westminster  polity  and  worship,  nor  by  going 
minutely  into  their  history,  but  by  emphasizing  the 
great  principles  for  which  the  Westminster  divines 
contended  in  formulating  a  system  of  government 
and  worship  for  the  Church.  Regnant  in  their 
thought,  first,  last,  and  midst,  was  the  cardinal  prin- 
ciple of  the  alone  Headship  of  Jesus  Christ.  It 
colored  all  their  discussions  and  directed  them  to  all 
their  conclusions.  As  the  sovereignty  of  God  was  the 
formative  principle  in  their  theology,  so  the  sove- 
reignty of  God,  the  Son,  was  the  shaping  principle 
in  their  system  of  government  and  worship.  The 
key  in  each  case  was  the  same.  When  they  passed 
from  doctrine  to  polity,  or  from  polity  to  doctrine,  or 
from  both  to  worship,  there  was  no  break  in  the 
harmony. 

They  found  their  authority  in  the  Word  of  God. 
What  the  Bible  said  was  final.  They  were  guided 
by  the  Book  ;  and  in  obedience  neither  to  tradition, 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  133 

nor  to  the  light  of  the  inner  consciousness,  would 
they  go  beyond  the  record.  They  conceived  that 
their  business  was  not  to  adjust  the  Bible  to  man, 
nor  to  cut  and  clip  the  Book  to  fit  human  prejudice 
and  accommodate  human  conceit,  but  to  faithfully 
adjust  man  to  the  Bible.  From  their  point  of  view 
it  was  not  for  them  to  amend  the  chart,  but  to  steer 
their  course  according  to  its  directions,  reach  what 
port  they  might. 

Accordingly,  with  a  clearness  never  to  be  misun- 
derstood, with  a  conviction  that  could  not  be  shaken, 
with  a  heart  for  any  fate,  they  declared  that  "  Christ, 
who  is  Prophet,  King,  and  Head  of  the  Church,  hath 
fulness  of  power,  and  containeth  all  other  offices,  by 
way  of  eminency  in  himself." 

Again,  in  briefer  phrase,  they  affirmed  that  "  the  ^ 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  the  only  King,  the  only  Head 
in  Zion."  There  they  stood,  firm  as  a  rock  on  a 
storm-beaten  shore.  From  that  position  nothing 
could  dislodge  them.  No  Erastian  modification 
whatsoever  could  be  allowed.  The  crown  rights  of 
Jesus  Christ  were  not  to  be  seized,  or  in  any  large  or 
small  degree  shared  by  another.  There  was  room 
for  but  one  on  the  throne  of  Zion.  To  him  civil  and 
ecclesiastical  rulers  alike  must  give  place.  By  logic 
as  unanswerable  as  the  Bible,  and  by  arguments  that 
left  the  Erastian  brethren  not  a  leg  to  stand  upon, 
they  upheld  the  kingship  of  Jesus,  "brought  forth 
the   royal   diadem,  and  crowned  him  Lord   of  all." 


i.^ 


134  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

This  kingship  of  our  Lord,  in  all  matters  ecclesias-  ^ 
tical,  seems  simple  enough  to  us  to-day,  living  under 
the  free  skies  of  America — so  simple  that  it  is  apt  to 
be  passed  over  rather  lightly.  How  could  a  truth  so 
self-evident  ever  have  been  disputed  ?  But  it  was  no 
simple  thing  two  hundred  and  fifty  3^ears  ago.  It 
raised  momentous  issues.  To  stand  for  the  unquali- 
fied sovereignty  of  Christ  over  his  Church,  as  those 
men  stood  at  that  time,  was  radical  and  revolutionary. 
It  involved  the  overthrow  of  many  a  cherished  idol 
and  a  new-making  of  society.  Only  strong,  brave, 
heroic  men  would  have  dared  to  announce  and  de- 
fend such  a  principle  there  and  then.  After  the 
Restoration,  when  the  tide  had  turned  and  sought 
to  sweep  them  again  upon  the  coasts  of  prelacy, 
rather  than  conform  and  bow  the  knee  to  Baal,  they 
proved  their  earnestness  and  courage  by  the  clear 
testimony  of  suffering. 

The  avowal  of  this  principle  was  a  challenge 
both  to  Coesar  and  Rome,  both  to  politician  and 
prelate,  a  notice  served  upon  them  to  quit-claim 
the  sovereignty  of  the  Church  of  God.  Both  were 
usurpers ;  both  were  exercising  lordship  where  they 
had  no  right;  and  this  fearless  stand  for  the  sole 
Headship  of  Christ  was  a  writ  of  ejectment.  Elder 
Lord  Warriston  put  it  with  telling  terseness  when 
he  said  before  the  Assembly  "  that  Christ  lives 
and  reigns  alone,  over,  and  in  his  Church,  and  will 
have  all  done  therein  according  to  his  word  and 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  135 

will,  and  that  he  has  given  no  supreme  headship 
over  his  Church  to  any  pope,  king,  or  parliament 
whatsoever."  There  spoke  the  spirit  of  the  Covenan- 
ters. That  ringing  utterance,  vigorous  and  fresh  as 
a  blast  from  his  own  northern  hills,  could  not  be 
mistaken.  He  meant  to  be  understood,  and  he  was. 
This  cardinal  doctrine,  so  constantly  insisted  upon, 
was  the  great  mother-lode  of  the  range.  Out  of  the 
rich  ore  it  yielded  was  minted  the  following,  whose 
image  and  superscription  Presbyterians  know  so  well : 
"  the  Lord  Jesus,  as  King  and  Head  of  his  Church, 
hath  therein  appointed  a  government  in  the  hands 
of  church  officers,  distinct  from  the  civil  magistrate." 
That  looks  very  innocent  now  as  it  stands  in  our 
Confession  of  Faith,  at  the  head  of  the  chapter  on 
Church  Censures.  But  nothing  else  so  stirred  and 
aroused  the  Assembly.  It  was  the  Church's  Magna 
Charta,  a  Declaration  of  Independence  that  contained 
in  it  the  seed-stuff  of  other  declarations  further 
on.  It  affirmed  the  autonomy  of  the  Church,  and 
so  brought  on  the  tug  of  war. 

Admitting  that  Christ  is  King  in  Zion,  has  he  ap- 
pointed a  government  therein  ?  That  was  first  to  be 
settled.  The  appeal  was  to  the  Word  of  God,  and 
the  question  was  answered  in  the  affirmative.  But 
then  came  the  further  question,  What  is  that  Govern- 
ment? And  in  answering  it,  all  the  powers  of  the 
gifted  leaders  of  the  three  classes  that  composed  the 
Assembly  were  brought  into  play.     One  would  like 


136  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

to  have  heard  them.  No  pygmies  contended  there. 
It  was  a  battle  of  Titans.  The  High  Church  Presby- 
terians of  the  Cartwright  School,  backed  by  the 
Scotch  Commissioners,  argued  with  splendid  ability 
and  genius  for  the  Presbyterian  form  of  government 
and  the  divine  rights  of  Presbytery.  They  resorted 
to  no  quibbles,  or  sophistries,  or  intrigues,  inside  or 
outside  of  the  Chamber,  to  gain  their  ends.  They  drew 
their  weapons  from  the  Word  of  God,  and  wielded 
them  with  a  skill  and  mastery  which  the  opposition, 
with  Parliament  on  their  side,  could  not  overcome. 

The  Independents  fought  them  at  every  step ; 
fought  them  on  the  question  of  Ruling  Elders,  on 
the  Subordination  of  Church  Courts,  on  the  Power 
of  Ordination,  on  the  Jurisdiction  of  the  Presbyteries 
and  Synods — fought  them  all  along  the  line.  In  the 
matter  of  excluding  or  suspending  scandalous  per- 
sons from  the  Lord's  table,  however,  their  chief  oppo- 
nents were  the  Erastians.  With  slight  concessions 
here  and  there  the  Presbyterians  triumphed ;  and  I 
think  the  fair-minded  reader  must  conclude  that  their 
victory  was  due,  not  to  their  voting  majority  in  the 
Assembly,  but  to  the  force  of  their  arguments  and 
the  impregnable  strength  of  their  position.  They 
stood  on  the  Word  of  God,  and  they  who  stand  on 
that  rock  are  not  easily  moved. 

But  by  far  the  hottest  contest  in  that  historic  de- 
bate raged  around  the  last  clause  of  the  proposition, 
"  distinct  from  the  civil  magistrate."     On  this  point 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  137 

tlie  heavy  guns  were  trained.  Selden,  Lightfoot,  and 
Coleman  attacked  it  with  all  the  force  of  their  pon- 
derous Hebrew  learning.  These  were  the  Erastian 
leaders  in  the  Assembly,  and  they  brought  the  whole 
weight  of  their  vast  scholarship  to  bear  against 
the  proposition.  In  their  rebound  from  prelatical 
tyranny,  which  was  natural  enough,  they  swung 
away  over  to  the  other  extreme.  The  genius  of  Pres- 
byterianism  leads  always  in  the  middle  of  the  road, 
and  so  avoids  Scylla  on  the  one  hand  and  Charybdis 
on  the  other.  But  that  genius  these  great  leaders 
had  not  caught.  The  idea  of  any  sort  of  spiritual 
jurisdiction  was  intolerable  to  them.  Of  that  they 
had  had  a  surfeit.  They  were  afraid  of  it.  Hence 
they  contended  hotly  and  eloquently,  and  with  all 
the  wealth  of  their  prodigious  learning,  for  the  eccle- 
siastical supremacy  of  Caesar.  They  fought  for  a 
blended  polity,  one  that  would  make  the  Church 
only  a  department  of  the  State,  with  the  power  of  the 
keys  in  the  hands  of  the  civil  magistrate.  Convinced 
that  the  result  of  a  government  within  a  government, 
such  as  the  Presbyterians  proposed,  would  be  a  con- 
tinual spiritual  lordship  over  the  conscience,  they  com- 
bated it  with  might  and  main.  The  thought  was 
abhorrent.  That  a  political  tyranny  over  the  con- 
science might  be  quite  as  bad  if  not  worse  than  any 
tyranny  of  an  ecclesiastical  sort,  was  something  they 
seem  not  to  have  considered. 

So  the  battled  raged ;  and  in  that  great  conflict 


138  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

the  Erastian  leaders  found  foemen  worthy  of  their 
steel.  Memorable  especially  was  that  day  when  the 
Jerusalem  Chamber  was  thronged  to  hear  Selden 
on  Excommunication.  It  was  one  of  the  greatest 
efforts  of  his  life.  He  fairly  dazed  the  spectators  and 
the  Assembly  with  his  astonishing  learning.  Excom- 
munication he  held  to  be  a  purely  civil  function,  to 
be  administered  alone  by  the  civil  magistrate ;  and 
to  prove  his  position  he  amazed  his  hearers  with  his 
surprising  display  of  rabbinical  lore.  Two  members 
undertook  to  reply,  lierle  and  Marshall ;  but  their 
speeches  fell  flat.  Then  Samuel  Rutherford  turned 
eagerly  and  appealingly  to  young  Gillespie,  and  said, 
"  Rise,  George,  rise  up,  man,  and  defend  the  right  of 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  to  govern  by  his  own  laws  the 
Church  he  has  purchased  with  his  blood."  George 
rose,  calm,  steady,  and  confident.  It  was  a  tremend- 
ous hour  and  a  tremendous  undertaking  for  a  young 
man  of  thirty-one  to  answer  Selden.  But  the  strip- 
ling knew  what  he  had  in  his  sling.  He  answered 
Selden  so  effectually,  so  crushingly,  that  the  giant 
was  silenced.  He  is  reported  to  have  said,  "  That 
young  man  has  by  a  single  speech  swept  aw^ay  the 
learning  and  labor  of  ten  years  of  my  life." 

But  let  us  not  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that  behind  all 
the  Presbyterians  contended  for,  the  principle  to  which 
they  clung  with  characteristic  tenacity  was  the  Head- 
ship of  Jesus  Christ.  Though  they  did  not  succeed 
in  cutting  off  Erastianism  entirely,  and  only  partially 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  139 

won  the  fight,  yet  they  were  so  far  victorious  that  the 
polity  finally  adopted  by  them  meant  the  ultimate 
and  absolute  divorce  of  Church  and  State. 

For,  mark  you,  embedded  in  that  polity,  and  grow- 
ing out  of  its  cardinal  principle  of  the  Headshii)  of 
Christ,  as  the  branch  grows  out  of  the  tree,  was  the 
doctrine  that  "  God  alone  is  Lord  of  the  conscience, 
and  hath  left  it  free  from  the  doctrines  and  com- 
mandments of  men,  which  are  in  anything  contrary 
to  his  Word,  or  beside  it  in  matters  of  faith  and  wor- 
ship." Pope,  prelate,  and  magistrate  alike  were  cut 
off  by  that  principle  from  all  interference  with  the 
rights  of  the  individual  in  his  relations  to  God.  No 
one  claims  that  the  Westminster  divines  were  free 
from  intolerance.  It  is  frankly  admitted  that  they 
partook  of  the  spirit  of  the  times  in  which  they  lived. 
Everywhere  in  that  day  there  was  a  disposition  to 
persecute  and  repress.  Cromwell,  speaking  to  the 
House  of  Commons,  said,  "  Is  there  not  yet  upon  the 
spirits  of  men  a  strange  itching ;  nothing  will  satisfy 
them  unless  they  can  press  their  fingers  upon  their 
brethren's  consciences,  to  pinch  them  there."  Even 
the  Protector  himself  did  some  pinching  of  this  sort. 
To  men  of  intense  earnestness  in  any  age  the  easy- 
going Laodicean  quality  of  half-heartedness  is  abom- 
inable; and  it  was  particularly  so  to  the  men  who 
figured  and  fought  in  the  mighty  liberating  move- 
ments of  the  17th  centur}'. 

Great  ideas  at  first  are  like  streams  far  u{)  the 


140  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

mountain  slopes.  It  takes  time  for  them  to  work 
their  way  down  into  the  valleys,  around  ledge,  and 
crag,  and  cliff,  until  they  spread  out  over  the  plain 
and  cover  it  with  waving  harvests.  However  much 
the  Westminster  divines  may  have  failed  to  practice 
the  toleration  involved  in  the  sacred  truth,  that "  God 
alone  is  Lord  of  the  conscience,"  let  us  give  them  full 
credit  for  affirming  the  doctrine  itself.  The  men  who 
asserted  that  principle  in  all  its  plenitude  and  set  it 
down  in  enduring  form  were  among  the  greatest 
benefactors  of  mankind.  Conscience  must  not  be 
coerced  by  any  civil  or  religious  power.  Absolutism 
must  stand  aside.  There  is  but  one  Sovereign  over  y 
the  Church  and  one  Sovereign  over  the  soul.  All 
honor  to  the  men  who  said  that,  and  who  say  it 
still. 

No  church  with  that  doctrine  upon  its  banners  can 
ever  be  enslaved.  No  people  with  that  fertilizing 
principle  in  their  hearts  can  ever  submit  to  despot- 
ism, political  or  religious.  Thrilling  and  sublime 
for  evermore  was  the  effect  of  it  after  the  Restoration, 
when  prelacy  was  again  in  the  saddle,  booted  and 
spurred.  Rather  than  yield  their  rights  of  con- 
science, 2000  English  Presbyterian  ministers,  on  St. 
Bartholomew's  Day,  1660,  showed  the  stuff  they  were 
made  of  by  leaving  their  churches,  their  support, 
their  homes,  their  weeping  flocks,  and  becoming 
strangers  and  wanderers  in  their  native  land.  It 
was  this  doctrine  that  put  into  the  Presbyterians  of 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  141 

Scotland  the  strength  and  stability  of  their  own 
granite  hills.  Claverhouse  and  his  dragoons  were 
powerless  to  trample  out  the  fire  it  kindled.  They 
might  as  well  have  hurled  their  wrath  at  Ben  Nevis. 
That  fire  flamed  forth  brighter  and  brighter.  See 
the  effects  of  it  there  in  Edinburgh,  just  two  centuries 
after  the  calling  of  the  Assembly !  It  inspired  470 
of  the  Lord's  freemen,  headed  by  the  immortal  Chal- 
mers, to  cut  all  connection  with  the  State,  to  give  up 
their  churches,  their  manses,  their  stipends,  and  go 
forth  into  the  liberty  of  the  sons  of  God.  The  spirit 
of  Knox,  and  Henderson,  and  Rutherford,  and  Gil- 
lepsie — the  spirit  of  freedom,  of  independence,  and 
above  all,  of  loyalty  to  the  great  Head  of  the  Church, 
burnt  in  them,  and  sent  its  light,  and  warmth,  and 
power  out  over  the  Scottish  hills  and  on  to  the  ends 
of  the  earth.  Happy  will  it  be  for  our  denomination 
if  this  da}^  shall  kindle  something  more  of  that  spirit 
in  us,  and  send  us  to  our  homes  and  our  people  to 
pass  it  along. 

Be  it  observed,  moreover,  that  this  principle  of  the 
sole  sovereignty  of  Jesus  Christ  was  uppermost  in  the 
mind  of  the  Assembly  when  it  formed  the  Directory 
of  Worship.  All  human  inventions,  all  ritualistic 
addenda,  all  ceremonial  pomp  and  pageantry,  ever\^- 
thing  not  warranted  by  the  Word  of  God  must  be 
abolished.  Over  the  Rock  of  Salvation  had  grown 
accretions  of  priestly  forms,  and  liturgical  superflui- 
ties, and  prelatical  rubbish  without  end — piled  up 


u 


142  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

until  the  Rock  was  hidden  from  view.  That  rub- 
bish must  be  brushed  away  so  that  the  Rock  might 
appear  in  all  its  glory,  and  draw  the  sinner  to  the 
refuge  of  its  riven  sides.  The  Church  was  so  filled 
with  ecclesiastical  bric-a-brac  that  the  Church's  Lord 
could  not  be  seen.  Under  the  mass  of  rubrics,  and 
rites,  and  formularies  imposed  by  prelacy,  s])irituality 
lay  stifled,  choked,  dead.  The  burden  had  become 
intolerable.  Jenny  Geddes'  bold  fling  of  a  stool  at 
the  priest's  head,  in  old  St.  Giles'  church,  showed 
what  stirring  events  were  in  the  wind.  "  All  Edin- 
burgh, all  Scotland,  and  behind  that,  all  England 
and  Ireland,"  says  Carlyle,  "  rose  into  unappeasable 
commotion  on  the  flight  of  that  stool  of  Jenny's." 
The  screw  had  been  twisted  one  round  too  far. 
Things  had  come  to  such  a  pass  that  in  the  estima- 
tion of  the  prelates  the  Service  Book  was  everything, 
the  Word  of  God  nothing.  Man-made  liturgies  en- 
couraged an  idle  and  unedifying  ministry.  Forms 
were  made  ready  to  their  hands,  which  they  fol- 
lowed with  lazy  and  droning  stupidity.  The  peo- 
ple were  fed  on  chaff  blown  into  their  faces  from  the 
prelatical  mill,  and  the  wretched  fare  maddened 
them. 

Such,  briefly,  were  the  conditions  that  prevailed 
when  the  Westminster  divines  set  themselves  to  pre- 
pare a  Directory  of  W^orship.  It  was  soon  done  and 
adopted  with  great  unanimity.  As  it  came  from 
their  hands,  and   as  it   stands  to-day,  it  is   charac- 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  143 

terized  by  strength,  simplicity,  spirituality,  scrip- 
turalness,  and,  above  all,  by  the  supremacy  it  gives 
to  the  Lord  Jesus.*  While  the  Directory  insists 
upon  order  and  dignity  in  the  conduct  of  divine 
service,  it  encourages  freedom,  and  leaves  abundant 
room  for  the  pla}''  of  individuality.  To  neither  set 
forms  on  the  one  hand,  nor  to  unstudied  effusions 
on  the  other  does  it  give  any  countenance.  It  is  in- 
tended not  to  be  mandatory,  but  suggestive ;  not  to  lay 
down  fixed  rules,  but  to  supply  help  and  furniture ; 
not  to  be  inflexible  and  unadaptable,  but  simple  and 
elastic,  suited  to  all  emergencies  and  all  classes  and 
conditions ;  not  to  spare  the  minister  and  relieve  him 
from  exertion,  but  to  stimulate  him  to  efforts  worthy 
of  his  high  calling. 

But  particularly  noticeable  in  it  is  the  pre-eminence 
it  gives  to  the  Son  of  God.  Wherever  the  light  falls, 
it  is  seen  to  proceed  from  that  radiant  center.  If  the 
Directory  emphasizes  the  preaching  of  the  Word,  it 
is  because  it  is  the  King's  law.  If  it  sets  the  Bible 
in  the  front  as  the  only  rule  of  the  kingdom,  it  is 
because  it  is  the  King's  book.  If  it  enjoins  tlie 
sanctification  of  the  Sabbath,  it  is  because  it  is  tlie 
King's  day.  If  it  excludes  all  priestly  and  idola- 
trous notions  from  the  sacraments,  it  is  because  tliey 
were  instituted  by  the  King,  and  become  efficacious 

*  And  tlipse  qiiiilities  our  Church,  if  she  is  wise  and  true  to  her 
fjrand  history,  will  zealously  conserve  ;  she  will  set  herself  like  a  wall 
against  all  tendencies  toward  ritualism. 


144  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

only  by  the  King's  blessing  and  the  working  of  the 
King's  spirit. 

Westminster  divines  built  upon  the  fundamental 
fact  that  Christ  is  not  only  the  Church's  Lord,  but 
the  Church's  Life.  Through  all  the  system  of  polity 
and  worship  which  they  adopted,  determining  its  ]/ 
spirit  and  character,  runs  the  cardinal  principle  of 
the  Headship  of  Jesus.  And  out  of  this  flow  the 
great  subordinate  principles  upon  which  I  have 
touched. 

These  principles  are  not  dead.  Principles  that  in- 
volve the  glory  of  the  Son  of  God,  the  independence 
of  the  Church,  the  infallibility  of  his  Word,  the 
freedom  of  conscience,  the  spirituality  of  worship, 
can  never  die.  They  are  the  most  living  issues  of 
this  present  hour.  To-day  they  need  ringing  out 
more  faithfully  than  ever.  It  is  not  for  me  to  preach 
to  this  Assembly  ;  but  in  a  closing  word,  I  may  be 
allowed  to  declare  my  own  convictions.  In  doing  so 
I  strike  no  note  of  pessimism.  I  conjure  up  no 
unrifted  shadows,  but  simply  indicate  what  seems  to 
me  to  be  the  supreme  need  of  our  Church  as  we  stand 
facin^he  new  century. 

What  we  need  to  multiply  conversions,  to  make 
our  preaching  mighty,  to  kindle  our  missionary  fires, 
to  set  every  Board  free  from  the  incubus  of  debt,  to 
bring  us  together,  North  and  South,  to  unite  the 
entire  Presbyterian  family,  and  send  us  forth  upon  a 
new  career  of   conquest  and  glory,  is  a  revival  of 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDBESS.  145 

loyalty  to  our  King.  What  is  needed  is  to  get  away 
from  side  issues,  away  from  the  catching  themes  of 
the  hour,  away  from  themes  literary,  and  themes 
political,  and  themes  social,  and  themes  exploited  by 
the  daily  press,  and  lift  up  the  name  of  our  King, 
and  make  it  pre-eminent  above  every  name.  Unless 
this  is  done,  agnosticism  and  materialism  will  win 
the  day.  Unless  this  is  done,  the  pulpit  will  go  into 
eclipse.  It  is  great  themes  that  make  great  preaching. 
So  far  as  I  am  able  to  read  the  signs  of  the  times,  I 
believe  it  is  the  exalted  Christ  or  defeat.  Nothing  but 
the  enthronement  of  Jesus  will  avail  to  break  through 
the  thick- crusted  indifference  of  our  times.  This 
and  this  only  wall  keep  irreverent  fingers  from  muti- 
lating the  Word  of  God.  This  and  this  only-  will 
solve  the  labor  problem,  beat  back  the  rum  power, 
inspire  the  philanthropy  that  will  plant  churches  on 
our  frontiers,  in  the  midst  of  the  teeming  population 
of  our  cities,  and  send  the  gospel  away  into  the  dark- 
est and  remotest  fields  of  human  life.  There  is  no 
vitalizing,  no  aggressive,  no  conquering  power  in 
Christianity  that  does  not  come  from  the  exalted 
Christ.  If  we  are  to  win,  and  break  down  strong- 
holds, and  hasten  the  latter-day  glory,  it  will  oSily  be 
by  the  charm,  the  music,  the  magic,  the  power  of 
that  matchless  name.  We  shall  have  to  lift  him  up 
as  the  fathers  did  in  the  days  that  tried  men's  souls. 
Let  the  sublime  doctrine  of  the  sovereignty  of  the 
crucified  and  risen  Christ,  central  in  our  polity  and 

10 


146  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY. 

worship,  be  made  central  in  our  preaching,  central 
in  our  living,  central  in  all  our  religious  activities ; 
only  let  us  get  a  new  grasp  of  the  kingship  of  Jesus, 
a  new  longing  to  put  the  crown  on  the  brow  that 
was  pierced,  a  new  hunger  to  lay  our  trophies  at  his 
feet,  and  then,  then,  will  our  captivity  be  turned  as 
the  streams  in  the  South,  and  all  the  dry  places  will 
blossom  into  life,  and  fruitfulness,  and  beauty. 


THE   WESTMINSTER   ASSEMBLY,  THE 
MEN  AND  THEIR  WORK. 


Rev.   WALLACE  RADCLIFFE,  D.  D., 
Moderator. 


THE  WESTMINSTER   ASSEMBLY,  THE    MEN 
AND  THEH^  WORK. 

BY    THE 

Rev.  WALLACE  RADCLIFFE,  D.D., 
Moderator. 


The  Westminster  Assembly  was  a  rebellion  of  the 
people  against  the  bosses.  It  was  the  assertion  of  the 
independent  conscience,  the  claim  of  spiritual  liberty, 
the  protest  of  outraged  right.  The  grip  of  spiritual 
usurpation  was  closed  by  Henry  VIII.  It  tightened 
under  James.  It  crushed  under  Charles.  When  the 
tale  of  bricks  is  doubled  Moses  comes.  The  long 
suppressed  demand  forced  utterance.  The  explosion 
and  crash  in  Scotland  gave  shock  and  release.  The 
people  were  heard  from.  The  response  was  at  last 
the  "  Assembly  of  godly  and  learned  divines  to  be 
consulted  with  by  Parliament  for  the  settling  of 
the  government  and  liturgy  of  the  church."  It 
was  a  representative  assembly  made  up  of  choice 
men — one  hundred  and  twenty-one  divines,  eleven 
lords,  twenty  commoners — representing  all  the  coun- 
ties of  England,  the  universities  of  Oxford  and  Cam- 
bridge, and  all  shades  of  ecclesiasticism.     It  was  an 

149 


150  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

effect  and  most  suggestively  an  Episcopalian  as- 
sembly, its  few  Scotch  members  excepted.  It  was 
equal  to  its  task,  on  every  side  men  conspicuous  for 
learning,  eloquence,  and  piety.  IMilton's  lofty  scorn 
is  out  of  place.  Call  the  roll  of  that  Assembly.  Here 
are  ecclesiastics  wise,  tolerant,  and  profound,  like 
Calamy,  distinguished  Orientalists  like  Lightfoot, 
Greek  specialists  like  Gataker,  dialecticians  like  Rey- 
nolds, and  Gillespie  the  prince  of  disputants ;  versa- 
tile and  profound  scholars  like  Wallis  of  Oxford, 
whose  eminence  as  a  theologian  was  only  surpassed 
by  his  attainments  as  a  mathematician  ;  linguists  like 
Palmer,  conspicuous  preachers  like  Marshall  and 
Goodwin;  the  elite  of  Scotch  theology  and  wisdom 
in  Rutherford,  Henderson,  and  Baillie,  "  the  learned 
Selden,"  lawyer,  historian,  theologian,  archaeologist, 
and  linguist ;  laymen  distinguished  as  statesmen, 
scholars,  or  jurists;  scores  of  walking  libraries,  bands 
of  armed  disputants,  the  whole  presided  over  by 
Twisse,  scholar  and  theologian  of  continental  fame. 
Wlien  such  men  come  together,  there  is  a  reason  for 
it,  and  their  conclusions  cannot  be  whistled  down  the 
wind. 

The  opening  scene  in  the  Abbey  was  solemn  and 
impressive.  But  the  crowning  event  was  in  the  fol- 
lowing September  in  St.  Margaret's  Church,  West- 
minster, when  the  Assembly  and  Parliament — the 
whole  representative  body  of  Church  and  State — 
stood  up  in  divine  worship  and  with  uplifted  hands 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  151 

took  oath  to  receive  and  stand  by  the  Solemn  League 
and  Covenant — a  civil  treaty  as  well  as  religious  bond 
— heroes  all,  to  whom  life  was  testimony  and  con- 
science dominant. 

There  is  a  sketch  of  the  civilization  of  the  times  in 
the  record  of  the  transfer  from  Henry  V.,  Chapel  to 
the  Jerusalem  Chamber,  which  the  gossipy  chronicler 
says  "  has  a  good  fyre  which  is  some  dainties  in  Lon- 
don." In  that  historic  chamber — now  chiefly  historic 
because  of  their  presence  and  work — this  Assembly 
met  June,  lG43-reb.  22,  1649,  five  and  a  half  years. 
They  took  their  time.  It  was  a  way  they  had,  as  the 
gossipy  Bailie  so  often  reveals.  "  Every  proposition 
they  harangue  long  and  very  learnedlie."  "  When 
every  man  has  said  and  the  replies  and  duplies  and 
triplies  are  heard."  "  Their  longsomeness  is  awful." 
"  When  all  were  tired  it  came  to  the  question."  One 
almost  imagines  he  is  describing  some  General  As- 
sembly somewhere. 

There  is  a  refreshing  revelation  of  carnal  wisdom 
in  these  high  counsels  when,  remembering  that  armed 
men  are  in  the  field,  we  hear  the  niiive  confession  and 
plea  "  not  to  meddle  with  haste  till  it  please  God  to 
advance  our  armies  which  we  expect  will  assist  much 
our  arguments." 

It  was  an  assembly  of  devotion — their  monthly  day 
of  fasting  and  prayer,  but  one  expression  of  the 
pervading  spirit  which  pleaded  the  promise  of  the 
opening  sermon,  "  I  will  not  leave  you  comfortless." 


152  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

It  bowed  to  but  one  absolutism.  It  backed  its  propo- 
sitions witli  Scripture.  It  sought  and  followed  un- 
hesitatingly the  voice  from  heaven. 

The  work  reveals  the  men.  Their  heroism,  scholar- 
ship, statesmanship,  spirituality,  have  their  most  bril- 
liant revelation  in  the  results  of  that  Assembly. 

I.    THE    FORM   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

This  was  necessarily  their  first  address.  This  was 
the  center  of  the  battle.  The  war  cries  indicate  the 
parties — "  Divine  Right,"  "  Limited  Episcopacy," 
"  Root  and  Branch."  The  divine  right  of  episcopacy 
was  a  recent  claim,  first  maintained  by  Bancroft  in 
1588.  Erastianism  was  doomed  to  an  earl}*^  dismissal 
by  such  men.  Church  rule  cannot  be  a  whim  of 
society  nor  be  changed  with  the  changing  complexion 
of  transitory  politics.  And  experience  led  them  to 
believe  with  James,  "  No  bishop,  no  king."  But 
there  is  another  king,  one  Jesus.  "  God  alone  is  Lord 
of  the  conscience."  What  does  he  say  ?  They 
turned  to  their  Greek  Testaments. 

Their  first  dispute  was  as  to  the  identity  of  doctor 
and  pastor  in  the  individual  congregation.  They 
were  wiser  in  the  seventeenth  than  in  the  nineteenth 
century.  Our  Church  must  return  to  the  wisdom 
of  the  fathers  if  in  the  larger  communities  we  are  to 
conserve  our  forces  and  advance.  The  diversities  of 
gifts  must  be  recognized  and  used.  The  suggestion 
of  the  Westminster  Assembly — the  doctor  and  pastor 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  153 

— will  overtake  many  a  difficulty  and  give  strength 
and  efficiency  to  the  modern  Presbyterian  Church. 
They  were  not  very  pronounced  u})on  the  eldership. 
TJiey  considered  it  as  "a  poynt  of  high  consequence," 
but  only  decided  that  it  was  scripturally  warrantable 
but  not  expressly  instituted.  But  the  principles  of 
government  were  not  uncertain.  The  doctrine  of  the 
supreme  authority  of  Scripture  struck  at  the  root  of 
hierarchical  authority.  In  letters  of  heavenly  light 
they  saw  gleaming  from  their  Bibles,  "  Liberty,  Equal- 
ity, Fraternity."  They  asserted  republicanism  as  the 
architect's  principle  of  the  pattern  shown  in  the 
Mount.  They  were  not  extremists.  Ussher's  plan  re- 
taining a  formal  episcopacy  as  a  part  of  presbyterial 
or  s3modical  government,  if  urged  b}'  him  and  others 
as  members  of  that  Assembly,  might  well  have  been 
the  true  and  permanent  reform — a  moderate  Presby- 
terianism.  It  was  only  another  formula  for  the 
superintendents  of  the  Knox  government  in  Scotland. 
Their  conclusions  were  distinct.  Presbytery  is  the 
continuation  of  apostolic  Christianity.  Primitive 
episcopacy  is  presbytery.  It  is  not  silenced  or  es- 
topped by  synods  or  councils.  It  is  historic,  not 
traditional.  It  exalts  the  Scripture  above  the  Church. 
It  presses  back  to  Christ  and  his  word.  It  asserts 
above  all  the  crown  rights  of  Jesus  Christ.  It  is 
significant  that  the  draft  of  the  church  government 
was  fini.shcd  on  the  Fourth  of  July,  1G45 — a  declara- 
tion of  independence  antedating  by  more  than  a  cen- 


154  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

tury  that  of  the  American  Colonies.  That  principle 
here  formulated  so  distinctly — liberty  capable  of  order, 
order  fruitful  of  liberty,  self-government  recognizing 
the  governing  self — that  principle  uttered  in  the 
Jerusalem  Chamber,  was  the  gun  whose  ball  went 
round  the  world,  and  whose  sound  wakened  the 
echoes  at  Bunker  Hill  and  Gettysburg. 

II.    THE    DIRECTORY    FOR    WORSHIP. 

It  was  not  imposed.  The  singed  cat  fears  the  fire. 
It  was  recommended.  It  was  prepared  by  men 
familiar  with  liturgies.  The  Reformed  Church  used 
prayer-books.  Knox's  Book  of  Common  Order 
was  of  use  in  Scotland  and  was  never  officially  put 
aside.  These  men  were  familiar  with  the  Book  of 
Common  Prayei,  and  were  there  not  to  destroy, 
but  to  purge.  The  Directory  was  a  compromise. 
I  question  whether  it  ever  occurred  to  any  to  pre- 
scribe unwritten  forms.  It  certainly  does  not  de- 
termine between  free  and  written  prayer.  It  left 
the  churches  in  the  sphere  of  Christian  liberty. 
Their  letter  to  the  Scottish  churches  specifically  gives 
liberty  to  use  either  the  old — Knox's  Liturgy — or  the 
new,  the  Directory  for  Worship.  Even  in  the  discus- 
sion of  the  section  upon  the  Public  Prayer  it  was 
stated  that  they  did  not  only  set  down  the  heads  of 
things,  but  so  largely  that  with  the  altering  of  here 
and  there  a  word,  a  man  may  mould  it  into  a  prayer. 
The    Directory   certainly   never    contemplated     the 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  155 

heterogeneous  and  irresponsible  license  which  in  our 
day  has  come  to  be  known  as  Presbyterian  worship, 
wherein  every  Presbyterian  minister  does  that  which 
is  right  in  his  own  eyes ;  nor  that  absolute  tyranny 
which  practically  ordains  a  most  unliturgical  liturgy 
as  the  only  freedom  of  worship.  Its  contention  was 
against  certain  prescribed  forms  and  imposed  cere- 
monies. Jenny  Geddes  threw  her  stool  not  at  the 
prayer  book,  but  at  the  Romish  abuses  which 
the  book  sought  to  impose  upon  her.  "  Will  ye 
say  mass  at  my  lug?"  It  asserts  the  liberty  of 
worship  to  have  its  best  expression  in  form  of  highest 
truth  and  beauty.  It  erects  the  pulpit  as  the  central 
object  in  the  church.  It  emphasizes  the  sermon. 
But  the  sermon  is  not  the  only  element  in  the  wor- 
ship. We  preach.  But  we  also  pray  and  sing  and 
read  the  Word  and  make  offerings  and  observe 
sacraments.  It  very  suggestively  directs  that 
"  ministers  ought  to  be  careful  not  to  make  their 
sermons  so  long  as  to  interfere  with  or  exclude  the 
more  important  duties  of  prayer  and  praise  "  (Chap, 
vii.  Sec.  4).  It  lays  stress  upon  the  order  of  topics 
and  succession  of  parts  of  worship.  It  makes  no 
demand  for  severe  simplicity.  It  utters  no  pro- 
hibition. Its  liberty  embraces  the  liberty  of  using 
the  written  form  as  genuinely  Presbyterian.  The 
continued  assertion  of  this  liberty  would  have  saved 
and  strengthened  our  Church.  The  liturgical 
tendency  of  to-day  is  only  a   return   to  the  earlier 


156  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

Presbyterianism,  which  aimed  in  this  Directory  at  a 
service  book  with  freedom  of  extempore  or  written 
prayer  which  should  be  not  a  master  but  a  guide.  It 
is  our  province  so  to  apply  the  principles  of  our  book 
as  to  give  a  proportioned  and  harmonious  order  and 
expression  to  prayer,  praise,  preaching,  and  sacrament 
with  such  appropriate  and  local  freedom  as  shall 
above  all  others  illustrate  and  encourage  the  com- 
munion of  the  saints. 

III.   THE   CONFESSION   OF   FAITH. 

The  best  thing  they  did  was  a  thing  they  did  not 
intend  to  do.  They  were  asked  to  revise  the  Thirty- 
nine  Articles.  But  revision,  as  our  own  Church 
found,  is  apt  to  be  a  delicate  matter.  They  dropped 
revision  and  wrote  the  Confession.  It  is  the  only 
Protestant  Confession  of  which  we  have  details  of  its 
composition  and  construction.  It  was  the  culmina- 
tion of  the  creeds.  From  the  first  creed  in  the  con- 
fession of  Peter  and  the  Baptismal  Formula,  through 
the  simplicity  of  the  Apostles'  Creed,  the  expansions 
and  limitations  of  the  Nicene  and  Constantinopolitan 
creeds,  the  strong  and  sturdy  challenge  of  Luther's 
Ninety-five  Theses,  the  comprehensive  but  faulty 
Augsburg  Confession,  the  glowing  martyr  tone  and 
color  of  the  Scotch  Confessions,  the  moderation  and 
faithfulness  of  the  Galilean  Confession,  the  minute, 
controversial  yet  catholic  statements  of  the  Helvitic, 
and  the  sweet  and  scriptural  yet  limited  Heidelberg 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  157 

Confession,  there  were  progression,  definiteness,  and 
comprehension,  until  out  of  all  came  the  Westminster 
Confession,  of  superb  logical  construction,  unmatched 
precision,  unapproachable  dignity,  and  magnificent 
fidelity — the  ripest  fruit  of  Reformed  theology.  It 
bears  the  impress  of  its  militant  times.  It  came  out 
of  the  throes  of  mightiest  controversy,  and  we  hear 
sounding  through  it  the  tramp  of  hosts,  the  clash  of 
arms,  and  shout  of  victory.  Of  course,  it  was  Cal- 
vinistic.  Their  doctrine  of  the  Church  compelled  it. 
The  question  of  the  Church  has  more  intimate  re- 
lation than  is  commonly  thought  to  one's  convictions 
upon  the  scheme  of  redemption.  Rationalism  will 
most  commonly  be  found  with  the  Erastian  or 
Independent  theory  of  the  Church,  Sacramentarianism 
with  Prelacy,  and  Calvinism  with  republican  Pres- 
byterianism.  And  it  was  a  necessity  of  the  times. 
The  Protestant  world  was  Calvinistic.  A  Reformed 
Council  in  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century 
could  have  announced  nothing  other  than  Calvinistic 
theology. 

Its  proximate  source  was  the  Irish  Articles,  drawn 
up  by  Archbishop  Ussher,  and  adopted  by  the  Irish 
Convocation  in  1615,  which  form  the  connecting-link 
between  the  Thirty-nine  Articles  and  the  West- 
minster Confession.  Many  of  its  objectionable 
phrases  and  sentences  are  evidently  borrowed  from 
this  source.  There  is  a  striking  similarity  in  the 
chapter  on  Decrees,  and  generally  in   the  order  of 


158  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

subjects,  headings  of  chapters,  doctrine,  and  very- 
language.  It  is  also  worthy  of  notice  that  much  of 
its  doctrinal  statement  is  due  to  Reynolds,  who  is 
also  the  author  of  the  General  Thanksgiving  of  the 
Book  of  Common  Prayer.  It  seems  to  me  that  the 
man  who  claims  Archbishop  Ussher  as  his  father  in 
God,  and  subscribes  to  the  Thirty-nine  Articles  and 
uses  devoutly  every  Sabbath  Reynolds's  Thanksgiving, 
should  not  object  very  strenuously  to  the  Calvinism 
of  the  Westminster  Confession. 

This  Confession  begins  right.  It  is  framed  from 
the  standpoint  of  divine  sovereignty.  It  starts  with 
God  and  unfolds  the  entire  history  of  the  created  uni- 
verse as  the  unfolding  of  the  eternal  purpose.  It  is 
more  logical,  more  comprehensive,  and  more  scriptural 
than  the  modern  cry  of  "  Back  to  Christ."  A  whole 
chain  is  more  than  one  of  its  strongest  links.  The 
covenant  of  grace  is  a  subordinate  part  of  the  eternal 
purpose. 

It  is  evangelical.  It  is  flushed  with  the  ardor  of 
individual  conviction.  It  gives  clear  and  sufficient 
expression  to  the  doctrines  of  the  Trinity,  the  Person 
and  Work  of  Christ,  and  offices  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
and  binds  us  in  the  communion  of  historic  Christi- 
anity. It  has  no  place  for  the  new  mysticism.  It 
does  not  recognize  Christian  science  falsely  so  called. 

It  is  comprehensive.  It  proclaims  itself  the  heir 
of  all  the  doctrinal  attainments  of  the  Christian 
Church.     Lutheranism    had  wrought   out   into   dis- 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  159 

tinct  and  enduring  form  the  doctrine  of  justification 
by  faith  alone ;  Calvinism  that  of  salvation  by  grace 
alone ;  Puritanism  that  of  the  authority  of  the  Word 
alone.  These  they  took,  and  giving  even  clearer 
definition  and  purer  form,  made  their  own  the  culmi- 
nation and  crown  of  all  systems  of  theology. 

It  is  refreshingly  distinct.  It  was  written  in  the 
day  when  men  made  definitions.  They  knew  what 
Arianism  and  Antinomianism  and  Arminianism 
meant.  Ours  is  the  day  of  Ritschlianism,  when  we 
supplant  definition  with  feeling,  when  the  river  does 
not  believe  in  having  any  banks,  and  when  the  home 
of  truth  is  supposed  to  be  all  out-doors. 

It  is  liberal  and  tolerant.  It  was  not  the  product 
of  any  school.  It  was  a  compromise,  and  compro- 
mises are  moderate.  It  assumes  the  fact  but  does  not 
define  the  mode  of  inspiration,  so  that  you  may  be- 
lieve with  me  in  verbal  inspiration,  or  with  my 
neighbors  in  plenary  inspiration,  or  with  him  beyond 
who  avoids  both  words,  provided  you  agree  with  all 
of  us  that  the  Scriptures  are  "the  Word  of  God 
written." 

It  presents  election,  not  of  sovereignty  but  of  grace, 
not  of  selfishness  but  for  service.  It  preaches  hope 
even  to  those  incapable  of  being  outwardly  called.  It 
teaches  the  highest  and  best  doctrine  of  the  Lord's 
Day.  It  presents  the  simplest,  most  spiritual,  and 
satisfying  doctrine  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  It  pro- 
nounces the  broadest  and   most  catholic  definition 


160  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

of  the  Church,  embracing  in  its  cordial  recognition 
and  fellowship  affusionist  and  immersionist,  post- 
millenial  and  premillenial,  sub-,  super-,  and  infra- 
lapsarian,  and  "  all  throughout  the  world  who  profess 
the  true  religion  together  with  their  children." 

It  has  imperfections.  It  shows  the  pressing  of  the 
galling  chain  which  bound  the  Church  to  the  State. 
Its  author  was  the  creation  of  the  Long  Parliament 
and  amenable  to  its  authority.  It  assigns  to  civil 
government  the  duty  of  calling  synods,  protecting 
orthodoxy,  and  punishing  heresy.  It  does  not  men- 
tion the  word  atonement.  It  pays  too  much  atten- 
tion to  the  deceased  wife's  sister.  It  might  have  had 
less  interest  in  elect  infants.  It  is  too  logical  in  refer- 
ence to  reprobation.  It  might  have  given  larger 
emphasis  to  the  Holy  Spirit.  But  it  has  enriched 
literature  with  one  of  its  noblest  chapters  upon  the 
Holy  Scriptures.  It  has  endowed  human  liberty 
with  its  golden  maxim,  "  God  alone  is  Lord  of  the 
conscience."  It  is  up-to-date — the  most  modern  of 
modern  creeds  in  that  it  anticipates  the  favorite 
humanitarianism  in  giving  the  humblest  man  a 
necessary  place  in  the  eternal  purpose,  and  thus 
endows  him  with  a  dignity  far  transcending  the 
dreams  of  mere  human  philosophy. 

IV.    THE    CATECHISMS. 

The  Catechisms,  Larger  and  Shorter,  one  for  pul- 
pit exposition,  the  other  for  the  education  of  chil- 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  161 

dren,  were  their  closing  work.  The  Shorter  Cate- 
chism differs  from  most  in  not  taking  the  Apostles' 
Creed  as  its  basis.  It  is  not  historical  nor  experi- 
mental. Lacking  something  of  warmth  and  sim- 
plicity, it  is  strictly  logical,  of  unrivalled  statement, 
skilful  construction,  and  incalculable  value.  Omit- 
ting the  questions,  the  answers  give  a  well-jointed, 
comprehensive,  brief,  and  satisfactory  creed.  Per- 
haps that  is  what  we  are  coming  to — the  best  and 
most  enduring  bond  of  unity  in  sight.  Its  one  hun- 
dred and  seven  questions  divide  logically  into  two 
parts  at  the  thirty-eighth.  The  first  part  is  a  system 
of  divinity.  It  recognizes  that  true  life  is  built  upon 
sound  doctrine.  The  second  part  affords  a  fit  direc- 
tory for  every  stage  of  the  Christian  life.  Truth  is  in 
order  to  goodness.  In  the  question,  "  What  does 
God  require  of  man?"  the  conscience  is  confronted 
with  the  inner  witness.  The  Commandments  voice 
duty.  The  "  requireth  "  and  the  "  forbiddeth  "  reveal 
the  inability  and  guilt,  and  the  awakened  soul  is  led 
by  faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  repentance  unto  life,  and 
the  means  of  grace — a  complete  circle  of  knowledge 
and  experience.  The  soul  whose  life  is  hallowed  by 
prayer  has  learned  how  to  glorif}'^  and  enjoy  him.  It 
cannot  be  too  highly  praised.  It  is  a  model  of  defi- 
nition. Most  of  the  answers  are  minie  balls,  some 
of  them  columbiads.  It  has  been  the  moulding 
power  in  uncounted  lives.  It  has  never  been  revised. 
It  cannot  be  amended.  It  must  not  be  neglected. 
11 


162  WEST3IINSTER  ASSEMBLY. 

It  carries  in  its  use  the  perpetuation  and  glory  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church. 

Their  complete  work  was  presented  as  "  an  humble 
advice  " — an  advice  which  if  well  heeded  had  saved 
Charles  his  head,  England  her  Church,  constitutional 
government  her  prerogative,  and  endowed  the  world 
with  the  speedier  gift  of  free  institutions,  enlightened 
consciences,  and  an  enlarged  humanity. 


Slguer  of  ihe  Declarailoa  of  luJepeuileuoe,  and  First  Moderator  of  tlie  General  Assembly. 


THE    AMERICAN    PRESBYTERIAN 

CHURCH   AND   THE   ADOPTING 

ACTS   OF   1729    AND   1788. 


Kev.  benjamin  l.  agnew,  d.  d. 


THE    AMERICAN    PRESBYTERIAN   CHURCH 
AND  THE  ADOPTING  ACTS  OF   1729  AND 

1788. 

BY  THE 

Rev.  benjamin  L.  AGNEW,  D.  D. 


In  ou£  magnificent  Church  we  possess  an  ecclesi- 
astical polity  which  may  be  denominated  specific, 
American  Presbyterianism,  whilst  our  doctrinal  creed 
is  generic,  world-wide  Paulinism.  Our  Church  is  not 
called  in  denominational  nomenclature  The  Calvin- 
istic  Church,  but  The  Presbyterian  Church. 

I.  In  considering  the  theme  before  us  we  shall  first 
treat  of  Colonial  Presbyterianism. 

The  first  classical  assembly  organized  in  this  coun- 
try was  organized  under  the  name  of  "  The  Presby- 
tery," March  22,  1706.  The  first  leaf  of  the  minute 
book  has  been  irrecoverably  lost,  and  we  have  no 
evidence  that  the  Presbytery  formally  adopted  any 
written  constitution.  Mr.  John  Thompson,  in  1728, 
advocated  in  Synod  the  adoption  of  the  Confession 
of  Faith  of  the  Westminster  Assembly  as  the  Creed 
of  the  Church,  the  Synod,  as  he  said,  "  Having  never, 
by  a  conjunct  act  of  the  representatives  of  our  Churcli, 

165 


166  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

made  it  our  Confession,  as  we  are  a  united  body 
politic."  And  yet  at  a  meeting  of  the  Presbytery 
held  in  Philadelphia  in  1712  there  was  an  overture 
presented  concerning  difficulties  between  Rev.  Mr. 
Wade  and  the  people  of  Woodbridge,  which  read  in 
part  as  follows :  "  It  is  overtured,  that  whereas,  for 
these  several  years,  we  have  endeavored  to  accommo- 
date the  differences  between  Mr.  Wade  and  the  people 
of  Woodbridge,  after  some  time,  at  his  own  proposal, 
we  admitted  him  as  a  member  of  our  Presbytery  and 
he  submitted  himself  willingly  to  our  Constitution  " 
(Records,  p.  27).  Thus  six  years  after  The  Presbytery 
was  organized  they  had  something  which  The  Pres- 
bytery regarded  as  a  "  Constitution,"  to  which  Mr. 
Wade  submitted. 

"The  General  Presbj^tery,"  as  the  classical  assem- 
bly was  sometimes  called,  resolved  in  1716  to  meet 
the  next  year  as  a  Synod,  and  the  body  so  met  in 
Philadelphia  in  1717.  In  1721,  the  Synod  said, 
"  As  we  have  been  many  years  in  the  exercise  of 
Presbyterian  government  and  Church  discipline,  as 
exercised  by  the  Presbyterians  in  the  best  Reformed 
Churches,  as  far  as  the  nature  and  constitution  of  this 
country  will  allow,  our  opinion  is,  that  if  any  brother 
have  any  overture  to  offer  to  be  formed  into  an  act 
by  Synod,  for  the  better  carrying  on  in  the  matter  of 
our  government  and  discipline,  that  he  may  bring  it 
in  against  next  Synod "  {Records,  p.  68).  In  1727, 
there  is  another  reference  (p.  86  of  the  Records)  as 


ANNIVERSAJiY  ADDRESSES.  107 

follows:  "And  as  to  the  call  and  settlement  of  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Pemberton  at  New  York,  the  Synod  does 
declare  that  the  rules  of  our  Presbyterian  Constitu- 
tion were  not  observed  in  several  respects  by  that 
congregation  in  the  matter." 

The  fair  presumption,  therefore,  is  that  the  West- 
minster Standards  were  for  several  years  recognized 
as  the  law  governing  the  actions  of  the  Presbytery 
and  afterward  of  the  Synod,  without  any  formal 
adoption  of  them  as  the  Constitution  of  the  Colonial 
Church. 

At  that  early  day  there  was  no  formal  subscription 
to  the  Confession  of  Faith  required  of  those  who  were 
ministers  in  the  Church.  In  1728,  the  Synod,  at  a  meet- 
ing held  in  Philadelphia,  took  the  following  action 
(Records,  p.  94) :  "  There  being  an  overture  presented 
to  Synod  in  writing,  having  reference  to  the  Subscrib- 
ing of  the  Confession  of  Faith,  etc.,  the  S3'nod  judg- 
ing this  to  be  a  very  important  affair,  unanimously 
concluded  to  defer  the  consideration  of  it  till  the  next 
Synod  ;  withal  recommending  it  to  the  members  of 
each  Presbytery  present  to  give  timeous  notice  there- 
of to  the  absent  members,  and  it  is  agreed  that  the 
next  be  a  full  meeting  of  Synod." 

The  next  year  this  matter  was  taken  up  at  Phila- 
delphia, and  on  the  19th  of  September,  1729,  the 
Adopting  Act  was  unanimously  passed  by  the  Synod 
(Records,  p.  94).  After  its  passage  we  find  this  de- 
liverance :    "  The  Synod,  observing  that  unanimity, 


168  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

peace,  and  unity,  which  appeared  in  all  their  consul- 
tations and  determinations  relating  to  the  affair  of 
the  Confession,  did  unanimously  agree  in  giving 
thanks  to  God  in  solemn  prayer  and  praises."  Action 
was  at  the  same  time  taken  in  regard  to  the  Directory, 
which  then  included  the  Form  of  Government  and 
what  we  now  call  the  Directory  for  Worship. 
The  Synod  declared  "  that  they  judge  the  directory 
for  worship,  discipline,  and  government  of  the  Church, 
commonly  annexed  to  the  Westminster  Confession, 
to  be  agreeable  in  substance  to  the  Word  of  God,  and 
founded  thereupon,  and  therefore  do  earnestly  recom- 
mend the  same  to  all  their  members,  to  be  by  them 
observed  as  near  as  circumstances  will  allow,  and 
Christian  prudence  direct"  {Records,  p.  95). 

There  were  Established  Churches  in  all  the  Colonies 
except  Pennsylvania,  and  the  Synod  could  not  adopt 
a  polity  for  the  Church  that  could  be  universally 
enforced,  for  Makemie  was  imprisoned  in  New  York 
for  two  months  for  daring  as  a  Presbyterian  to  preach 
the  gospel  in  a  Colony  where  there  was  an  Estab- 
lished Church. 

After  the  Adopting  Act  of  1729,  subscription  to 
the  Standards  of  the  Church  was  required  of  all 
ministers.  In  1730  {Records,  p.  98.)  we  find  intrants 
were  obliged  "  to  receive  and  adopt  the  Confession 
and  Catechisms  at  their  admission,  in  the  same  man- 
ner and  as  fully  as  the  members  of  the  Synod  did 
that  were  present"  at  the  time  of  passing  the  Adopt- 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  1G9 

iiig  Act,  and  this  action  was  unanimously  taken.  In 
1734,  the  Synod  ordered  that  inquiry  be  made  every 
year  whether  ministers  received  were  required  "  to 
adopt  the  Westminster  Confession  and  Catechisms 
with  the  Directory."  This  is  either  to  be  regarded  as 
an  explanation  of  the  act  recommending  the  Direc- 
tory, or  else  it  is  a  new  adopting  act  formally  requiring 
all  ministers  to  adopt  the  Standards.  The  same  year 
this  action  was  taken :  "  Pursuant  to  act  of  Synod, 
found  upon  inquiry  that  Mr.  William  Tennent, 
junior,  Mr.  Andrew  Archbold  ordained,  and  Mr. 
Samuel  Blair,  licensed,  did  each  and  every  one  of 
them  declare  their  assent  and  consent  to  the  West- 
minster Confession  and  Catechisms,  and  Directory 
annexed,  according  to  the  intent  of  the  act  of  Synod 
in  that  case  made  and  provided."  In  1736,  the 
Synod  made  this  clear  and  positive  declaration : 
"  That  the  Synod  have  adopted  and  still  do  adhere 
to  the  Westminster  Confession,  Catechisms,  and 
Directory,  without  the  least  variation  or  altera- 
tion;" except  only  some  clauses  in  the  twentieth 
and  twenty-third  chapters,  concerning  the  civil 
magistrate;  and  this  action  was  unanimously 
adopted. 

In  1745,  the  Synod  was  unfortunately  divided. 
The  division  took  place  from  differences  about  mat- 
ters of  policy,  methods,  and  measures,  rather  than 
about  doctrines,  and  when  the  Sjniods  of  Philadelphia 
and  New  York  were  again  happily  reunited,  it  was 


170  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

on  the  simple  basis  of  the  StaPxdards  of  the  Church 
as  they  had  been  previously  adopted. 

In  1751,  the  Synod  of  Philadelphia  ordered  that 
the  proposals  of  the  Synod  of  New  York,  presented 
by  that  body  in  the  year  1749,  for  a  union  with  the 
Synod  of  Philadelphia,  be  recorded.  In  those  propo- 
sals the  Synod  of  New  York  says,  "  we  all  profess  the 
same  Confession  of  Faith  and  Directory  of  Worship." 
"  And  to  preserve  the  common  peace  we  would  desire 
that  all  names  of  distinction  which  have  been  made 
use  of  in  late  times,  be  forever  abolished;  that 
every  member  give  his  consent  to  the  West- 
minster Confession  of  Faith  and  Directory,  ac- 
cording to  the  plan  formerly  agreed  to  by  the 
Synod  of  Philadelphia,  in  the  year  1729.  Further, 
that  every  member  promise  that  after  any  question 
has  been  determined  by  a  major  vote,  he  will  actively 
concur,  or  passively  submit,  to  the  judgment  of  the 
body,  but  if  his  conscience  permit  him  to  comply 
with  neither  of  these,  then  he  shall  be  obliged 
peaceably  to  withdraw  from  Synodical  communion, 
without  any  attempt  to  make  a  schism  or  divi- 
sion among  us"  (Records,  p.  202).  The  Synod  of 
Philadelphia  the  same  year  gave  a  similar  deliver- 
ance so  that  there  was  a  perfect  understanding  be- 
tween the  two  Synods  (Records,  p.  204). 

In  1758,  the  Reunion  of  the  Synods  took  place, 
and  they  formed  and  united  upon  a  basis  in  which 
they  declared  that  "  Both  Synods  continue  to  profess 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  171 

the  same  principles  of  faith,  and  adhere  to  the  same 
form  of  worship,  government,  and  discipline  "  (Bec- 
ords,  p.  28G).  In  the  first  article  of  the  Basis  of  Union 
they  declared  that  both  Synods  had  "always  approved 
and  received  the  Westminster  Confession  of  Faith, 
and  the  Larger  and  Shorter  Catechisms  as  an  ortho- 
dox and  excellent  system  of  Christian  doctrine." 
And  in  order  that  there  might  be  peace  and  harmony 
in  the  Church  the  second  article  in  the  Basis  of  Union 
was  adopted  as  follows : 

"II.  That  when  any  matter  is  determined  by  a 
major  vote,  every  member  shall  either  actively  con- 
cur with,  or  passively  submit  to,  such  determination ; 
or,  if  his  conscience  permit  him  to  do  neither,  he 
shall,  after  sufficient  liberty  modestly  to  reason  and 
remonstrate,  peaceably  withdraw  from  our  com- 
munion, without  attempting  to  make  any  schism. 
Provided  always,  that  this  shall  be  understood  to 
extend  to  such  determinations  as  the  body  shall  judge 
indispensable  in  doctrine  or  Presbyterian  govern- 
ment {Records  of  1758,  p.  286). 

In  1763,  when  "  a  Presbytery  in  New  York  govern- 
ment "  asked  to  be  received  into  the  Synod,  the  Synod 
agreed  to  receive  them  on  the  condition  "  that  they 
agree  to  adopt  our  Westminster  Confession  of  Faith 
and  Catechisms,  and  engage  to  observe  the  Directory 
as  a  plan  of  worship,  discipline,  and  government, 
according  to  the  agreement  of  this  Synod  "  {Records, 
p.  331). 


172  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

In  1770,  when  the  Presbytery  of  South  Carolina 
asked  to  be  received  into  the  Synod,  it  was  informed 
that  it  could  be  received  on  the  following  terms : 

"  The  conditions  which  we  require,  are  only  what 
we  suppose  you  are  already  agreed  in,  viz.,  that  all 
your  ministers  acknowledge  and  adopt  as  the  stand- 
ard of  doctrine  the  Westminster  Confession  of  Faith 
and  Catechisms,  and  the  Directory  as  the  plan  of 
your  worship  and  discipline." 

By  requiring  this  subscription  to  its  Standards 
the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Colonial  days  grew 
into  a  strong,  united,  harmonious  ecclesiastical  or- 
ganization. 

II.  Let  us  now  turn  our  attention  to  the  Presbyte- 
rian Church  in  the  United  States  of  America. 

After  the  War  of  the  Revolution  had  closed  it  was 
deemed  advisable  to  adopt  a  new  and  more  complete 
Constitution  for  the  Church,  and  the  Adopting  Act 
of  1788  was  passed  by  Synod  with  wonderful  unan- 
imity. 

This  Adopting  Act  of  1788  is  a  more  comprehen- 
sive and  specific  act  than  that  of  1729.  It  divided 
the  Synod  into  four  Synods ;  constituted  the  General 
Assembly ;  and  also  adopted  the  Constitution  of  the 
Church  with  its  System  of  Doctrine,  of  Ecclesiastical 
Polity,  its  Book  of  Discipline,  and  its  Directory  for 
Worship. 

Let  us  now  notice  more  closely  what  is  compre- 
hended  in   our   Church   Constitution. 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  173 

1.  It  includes  "The  System  of  Doctrine"  of  the 
American  Presbyterian  Church, 

In  the  old  records  we  find  various  expressions  used 
to  denote  the  Creed  of  the  Church,  such  as  "  The 
Systems  of  Doctrine,"  "  The  System  of  Doctrines,"  and 
"  The  System  of  Doctrine."  In  the  Constitution  of 
the  Colonial  Church  there  were  no  questions  em- 
bodied which  were  asked  of  licentiates,  or  ministers 
seeking  admission  to  Presbytery,  but  a  general  sub- 
scription to  the  Standards  was  required  of  ministers ; 
but  when  the  new  Constitution  of  1788  was  adopted 
a  series  of  questions  was  introduced,  which  are  re- 
quired to  be  asked  of  all  persons  entering  the  minis- 
try— namely :  "  Do  you  believe  the  Scriptures  of  the 
Old  and  New  Testaments  to  be  the  Word  of  God,  the 
only  infallible  rule  of  faith  and  practice?"  and  "Do 
you  sincerely  receive  and  adopt  the  Confession  of 
Faith  of  this  Church,  as  containing  the  system  of 
doctrine  taught  in  the  Holy  Scripture?"  etc. 

It  is  a  greatly  mistaken  notion  to  suppose  that 
"  The  System  of  Doctrine  "  in  the  Standards  of  the 
American  Presbyterian  Church  is  simply  a  statement 
of  the  Five  Points  of  Calvinism  as  opposed  to  Armin- 
ianism.  The  Five  Points  occupy  a  very  small  space 
in  the  Confession. 

You  must  go  back  to  the  days  of  the  Westminster 
Assembly  and  consider  what  "  The  System  of  Doc- 
trine "  meant  at  that  time.  Who  constituted  the 
combined  forces  against  which  the  Assembly  lined 


174  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

up  "  The  System  of  Doctrine  "  which  they  believed  to 
be  "taught  in  the  Holy  Scriptures?"  The  attempt 
made  at  that  time  was  thoroughly  to  reform  the 
Church  of  England,  and  in  particular  to  make  a  clear 
statement  to  the  world  of  what  the  members  of  the 
Assembly  believed  the  Word  of  God  distinctly  taught 
as  against  Romanism.  They  also  protested  against 
Deism,  Tritheism,  Polytheism,  Antinomianism,  Socin- 
ianism,  Unitarianism,  Arianism,  and  Pelagianism,  as 
well  as  against  Arminianism. 

"  The  System  of  Doctrine  "  starts  out  by  a  protest 
against  Deism,  which  claims  that  the  light  of  Nature 
is  a  sufficient  guide  to  man,  and  asserts  the  necessity 
of  a  revelation  from  God.  Then  "  The  System  of  Doc- 
trine "  is  differentiated  from  Roman  Catholicism  by 
claiming  that  the  Word  of  God  is  of  itself  the  only 
and  infallible  rule  of  faith  and  practice  independent 
of  tradition,  and  it  here  opposes  tradition  which  had 
largely  supplanted  the  authority  of  the  divine  Word. 

The  next  chapter  on  the  Trinity  states  our  faith  in 
opposition  to  Polytheism,  Unitarianism,  and  Antitrin- 
itarianisin.  Further,  in  the  3d  chapter  it  teaches  the 
doctrine  of  the  divine  decrees  as  against  the  views  of 
the  Arminians.  Then,  after  speaking  of  Creation,  it 
proclaims  a  belief  in  the  direct  Providence  of  God 
over  his  creation  as  opposed  to  Fatalism. 

But  this  is  enough  to  show  that  "  The  System  of 
Doctrine "  is  not  simply  the  Calvinistic  system  of 
doctrine  as  opposed  to  Arminianism.     The  Calvinis- 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  175 

tic  system  is  only  a  part  of  the  broad,  comprehensive 
system  which  the  Westminster  Assembly  believed 
the  Word  of  God  explicitly  taught  as  antagonistic  to 
the  multiplied  forms  of  error  prevalent  in  that  age. 

The  Westminster  Confession  of  Faith  is  a  Protes- 
tant, evangelical  system  of  Christian  doctrine  formu- 
lated by  Reformed  Calvinistic  theologians,  which  the 
Presbyterian  Church  in  America  has  always  held  to 
be  "  an  orthodox  and  excellent  system." 

The  very  foundation  of  this  comprehensive  system 
is  that  the  Bible  is  inspired  of  God  and  is  the  infalli- 
ble rule  of  faith  and  practice  for  all  men  as  distin- 
guished from  the  teachings  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church. 

Look  at  the  teachings  of  the  Confession  of  Faith 
on  this  fundamental  doctrine.  The  Confession  ex- 
plicitly makes  the  following  declaration: 

"  Under  the  name  of  Holy  Scripture,  or  the  Word  of 
God  written,  are  now  contained  all  the  books  of  the 
Old  and  New  Testaments,  which  are  these " :  And 
then  it  names  the  entire  sixty-six  books  of  the  Bible, 
and  adds,  "all  which  are  given  by  inspiration,  to 
be  the  rule  of  faith  and  life." 

The  Confession  then  asserts  that  "  the  Holy  Scrip- 
ture "  ..."  is  the  Word  of  God."  It  proceeds  to 
give  the  arguments  including  "  the  entire  perfection 
thereof,"  "  whereby  it  doth  abundantly  evidence  itself 
to  be  the  Word  of  God ;  yet  notwithstanding,  our  full 
persuasion  and  assurance  of  the  infallible  truth  and 


176  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

divine  authority  thereof  is  from  the  inward  work  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  bearing  witness  by  and  with  the 
Word  to  our  hearts."  It  further  declares  that  "  The 
infallible  rule  of  interpretation  of  scripture  is  the 
Scripture  itself"  and  that  "  The  Supreme  Judge,  by 
which  all  controversies  of  religion  are  to  be  deter- 
mined, and  all  decrees  of  councils,  opinions  of  ancient 
writers,  doctrines  of  men  and  private  spirits,  are  to 
be  examined,  and  in  whose  sentence  we  are  to  rest, 
can  be  no  other  but  the  Holy  Spirit  speaking  in  the 
Scripture." 

This  latter  is  aimed  at  all  ex  cathedra  utterances  of 
the  supreme  pontiff  and  the  authority  of  unreliable 
tradition,  and  declares  to  the  world  that  we  are  to  be 
guided  in  all  matters  of  faith  and  practice  by  the 
infallible  Word  of  God  as  contained  in  the  sixty-six 
books  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  and  the 
American  Presbyterian  Church  has  never  swerved  a 
hair's-breadth  from  these  declarations  of  its  immortal 
Constitution. 

The  Word  of  God  then  becomes  the  divine  Charter 
of  the  three  divine  institutions  which  we  have  upon 
earth:  the  Family,  the  Church,  and  the  State,  and 
it  is  the  infallible  guide  for  all  these  institutions. 

Starting  with  this  divine  Charter,  our  whole  creed 
is  settled  by  the  allwise  and  loving  Sovereignty  of 
God. 

Some  do  not  like  creeds ;  but  our  Church  has 
always  thought  it  fair  and  honorable  to  state  explic- 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  177 

itly  what  it  understands  the  "Word  of  God  to  teach. 
Our  Creed  then  is  our  witness-bearer  to  the  whole 
world.  Indeed,  no  man  can  write  or  preach  a  sermon 
without  stating  in  part  his  creed,  and  we  are  bound 
to  contend  earnestly  for  the  faith  once  delivered  to 
the  saints.  At  the  same  time  our  Creed  is  pre-emi- 
nently an  ironical  document,  and  we  believe  the 
clear,  definite  statement  by  the  Christian  denomina- 
tions of  what  they  believe,  is  the  very  best  road  to 
an  ultimate  agreement  of  the  churches  on  the  funda- 
mental and  essential  doctrines  of  our  holy  religion. 

We  reject,  as  if  by  anticipation,  in  this  old  creed 
the  popular  new  doctrine  that  we  are  to  be  guided 
by  our  Christian  consciousness.  The  various  creeds 
of  the  religious  world  are  a  positive  demonstration 
that  Christian  consciousness  is  utterly  unreliable. 
Christian  consciousness  is  not  law,  but  the  Word  of 
God  is  infallible  law  in  all  matters  of  faith  and 
practice. 

There  has  always  been  some  liberty  allowed  in  the 
subscription  to  our  Standards  which  our  Constitution 
requires,  and  the  right  of  private  judgment  has 
always  been  recognized. 

(1)  There  is  liberty  in  the  Constitution  itself  about 
many  doctrines.  There  is  nothing  said  in  the  Con- 
stitution about  supra-Lapsarianism  or  sub-Lapsarian- 
ism  ;  nothing  about  Creationism  and  Traducianism  ; 
no  specific  theory  of  inspiration  is  there  formulated ; 
nothing  is  said  about   human   composition   in   the 

12 


178  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

psalmody  of  the  church,  or  about  the  use  of  instru- 
mental music  in  the  worship  of  God.  No  positive 
theory  is  laid  down  about  the  orders  and  classes  in 
the  eldership,  although  our  denomination  is  expressly 
called  the  Presbyterian  Church.  Some  say  we  have 
two  orders  in  the  eldership:  teachers  and  rulers. 
Others  say  there  is  but  one  order:  the  preacher. 
Others  say  we  have  one  order  with  two  classes : 
teachers  and  rulers,  as  Calvin,  Breckinridge,  Miller, 
etc.  Others  say  presbyters  or  bishops  are  of  one 
order  and  one  class,  and  that  they  are  both  teachers 
and  rulers,  as  Hitchcock  and  Thompson ;  and  others 
hold  they  are  all  of  one  order  and  one  class  consti- 
tuting the  rulers  of  the  church,  as  Adger,  Hatfield, 
and  Thornwell. 

There  is  also  great  liberty  allowed  in  regard  to 
following  our  Directory  for  Worship. 

(2)  There  is  liberty  allowed  in  the  subscription 
itself  required  by  the  Form  of  Government. 

The  Constitution  requires  that  all  ordained  officers 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church  shall  "  Sincerely  receive 
and  adopt  the  Confession  of  Faith  of  this  church,  as 
containing  the  system  of  doctrine  taught  in  the  Holy 
Scriptures." 

This  subscription  includes  the  adoption  of  the 
Larger  and  Shorter  Catechisms  as  parts  of  "  The 
System  of  Doctrine  "  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  as 
"  an  orthodox  and  excellent  system  of  Christian 
doctrine." 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  179 

This  is  not  an  ipsissima  verba  subscription,  nor  a 
"substance  of  doctrine"  subscription,  but  ''The  Sys- 
tem of  Doctrine,"  the  Protestant,  Calvinistic  system 
of  Christian  doctrine  subscription. 

Private  church  members  are  not  required  to  make 
this  subscription,  but  all  ordained  officers  are  re- 
quired to  make  it.  A  man  of  his  own  free  will 
accepts  this  system  of  doctrine  and  adopts  it,  or  he 
does  not  adopt  it  at  all.  Therefore,  it  is  no  hardship 
to  a  man  to  make  this  subscription.  Men,  in  becom- 
ing members  of  a  civil  government,  surrender  certain 
natural  rights  for  the  benefit  to  be  derived  from  the 
compact  of  government,  and  they  are  required  to  be 
subject  to  the  laws  of  the  government  they  thus 
enter.  So  men  who  join  the  Presbyterian  Church 
become  subject  to  the  laws  of  the  Church,  and  if  they 
find  after  entering  this  organization  that  they  can  no 
longer  believe  and  preach  its  doctrines,  what  then  ? 
From  the  very  earliest  days  of  our  American  Church 
a  minister  was  required  to  state  his  scruples  to  his 
Presbytery,  and  the  Presbytery  was  to  decide  whether 
his  scruples  were  about  "  articles  and  points  of  doc- 
trine "  that  were  regarded  "  essential "  to  the  gospel 
as  we  understand  the  teachings  of  the  Word  of  God, 
and  if  a  minister  could  not  agree  with  his  brethren  of 
the  Presbytery  in  the  Colonial  Church,  he  was  re- 
quired peaceably  to  withdraw  from  the  body.  This 
was  the  law  of  the  Church,  and  it  was  largely  drawn 
from  the  custom  of  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church,  for 


180  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

the  language,  "  articles  and  points  of  doctrine  "  here 
used,  is  taken  from  the  Constitution  of  that  Church. 

In  that  Constitution,  edition  of  1793,  we  find  that 
a  candidate  for  the  ministry  before  his  admission 
had  to  subscribe  to  a  most  solemn  promise,  part  of 
which  reads  as  follows: 

"  We  heartily  believe  and  are  persuaded  that  all 
the  articles  and  points  of  doctrine,  etc.,  do  fully  agree 
with  the  Word  of  God."  "  And  if  hereafter  any  diffi- 
culties, or  different  sentiments  respecting  the  afore- 
said doctrine  should  arise  in  our  minds,  we  promise 
that  we  will  neither  publicly  nor  privately  propose, 
teach,  or  defend  the  same,  either  by  preaching  or 
writing,  until  we  have  first  revealed  such  sentiments 
to  the  consistory,  classis,  and  Synod,  that  the  same 
may  be  examined ;  being  ready  alwaj^s  cheerfully  to 
submit  to  the  judgment  of  the  consistory,  classis,  or 
Synod,  under  the  penalty,  in  case  of  refusal,  to  be 
ipso  facto  suspended  from  the  office." 

The  law  of  our  Church  was  more  liberal,  and  only 
required  a  man  to  peaceably  withdraw  from  the  de- 
nomination if  he  could  not  agree  with  its  doctrines. 
It  did  not  suspend  him  from  his  ministerial  office. 

The  Adopting  Act  of  1729  prohibited  any  Presby- 
tery from  receiving  any  minister  or  any  candidate 
for  the  ministry  "  but  what  declared  his  agreement 
in  opinion  with  all  the  essential  and  necessary  arti- 
cles of  said  Confession  and  Catechisms ;"  and  if  any 
one  had  any  scruples  about  any  article  he  was  bound 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  181 

to  declare  them  to  the  Presbytery,  and  the  Presbytery 
would  determine  whether  the  article  was  or  was  "  not 
essential  and  necessary,  in  doctrine,  worship,  or 
government." 

(3)  There  has  been  liberty  allowed  in  the  practice 
of  the  Church. 

In  the  discussion  which  accompanied  the  effort  to 
revise  the  Confession  of  Faith  a  few  years  ago,  there 
were  many  divergent  views  expressed  in  regard  to 
pretention,  and  the  subject  of  elect  infants,  the  pope 
as  Anti-Christ,  etc.,  but  no  trial  for  heresy  arose  out  of 
those  discussions.  The  New  and  Old  School  branches 
of  the  Church  differed  in  their  interpretation  of  our 
Standards,  but  they  separated  more  on  questions  of 
Church  methods,  as  did  the  Synod  of  New  York  and 
Philadelphia  in  earlier  days,  than  upon  questions  of 
doctrine ;  and  in  the  Reunion  in  both  cases  the  bodies 
came  together  upon  the  Standards  pure  and  simple. 
If  the  churches  North  and  South  are  ever  united,  it 
will  be  upon  the  simple  basis  of  our  common 
Standards. 

When  the  Constitution  of  1788  was  adopted  the 
Presbyterian  Church  eliminated  from  the  Confession 
of  Faith  every  trace  of  Erastianism,  and  declared 
itself  unequivocally  in  favor  of  civil  and  religious 
liberty.  When  the  great  struggle  for  liberty  came 
the  old  Calvinistic  Colonists  declared  that  "  God  alone 
is  Lord  of  the  conscience,"  and  their  belief  in  the 
sovereignty  of  God  made  them  fearless  unto  death  in 


182  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

demanding  for  themselves  and  others  the  liberty  to 
worship  God  according  to  the  dictates  of  their  own 
consciences.  They  demanded  a  complete  severance 
between  Church  and  State.  The  Synod  of  New 
York  and  Philadelphia  was  the  first  organic  body 
of  men  to  declare  in  favor  of  open  resistance  to  the 
oppressive  power  of  Great  Britain.  When  the  war 
raged  and  Washington  was  once  compelled  to  retreat 
and  he  was  asked  where  he  would  make  his  last 
stand,  "  He  replied,"  says  Prof.  Mears,  "  that,  if  he 
were  obliged  to  cross  every  river  and  mountain  to 
the  limits  of  civilization  he  would  make  his  last 
stand  with  the  Scotch-Irishmen  of  the  frontiers,  there 
plant  his  banner,  and  still  fight  for  freedom."  Ban- 
croft says,  "  A  coward  and  a  Puritan  never  went  to- 
gether," and  Froude  says,  "  Calvinism,  in  one  or 
other  of  its  many  forms,  has  borne  ever  an  inflexible 
front  to  illusion  and  mendacity,  and  has  preferred  to 
be  ground  to  powder  like  flint,  rather  than  bend  be- 
fore violence,  or  melt  under  enervating  temptation." 
It  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  that  Washington  put 
such  implicit  confidence  in  the  courage  and  heroism 
of  the  Presbyterians  who  composed  the  largest  part 
of  his  unconquerable  army.  When  Calvinists  under- 
take a  revolution,  they  seize  hold  of  it  with  a  grand 
grip,  and  they  never  let  go  until  they  have  carried  it 
through  all  the  convulsions  of  war  to  a  glorious  suc- 
cess. 

No  wonder  Presbyterians  are  proud  of  the  bright 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  183 

banner  that  floats  in  beauty  over  this  broad  land  of 
freedom.  A  member  of  the  Continental  Congress 
said  that  the  blue  in  our  banner  was  taken  from  the 
blue  banner  of  the  Old  Covenanters,  and  it  has  to  us, 
therefore,  a  precious  and  peculiar  significance. 

Let  me  here  express  in  rhyme  the  thought  that 
burns  within  my  soul : 

Flag  of  freedom,  flag  of  blessing, 

Flag  of  splendor,  floating  high, 
Best  of  banners,  boon  of  heaven, 

Gem  of  all  beneath  the  sky ! 
Flag  of  beauty,  flag  of  duty. 

Banner  of  tlie  rights  of  man. 
In  the  march  of  mighty  nations 

Thou  dost  ever  lead  the  van. 

Flag  of  brave  men,  dearly  paid  for, 

How  we  love  thy  Stripes  and  Stars! 
Thou  didst  guide  our  dauntless  heroes 

Through  our  long  and  bloody  wars. 
Flag  of  grandeur,  flag  of  brightness, 

Glowing  o'er  the  land  and  sea, 
Shine  forever  in  thy  glory 

O'er  the  brave  and  o'er  the  free. 

2.  The  Constitution  of  our  Church  includes  a  defi- 
nite, specific  ecclesiastical  polity. 

As  the  sovereignty  of  God  settles  our  creed,  so  it 
settles  our  polity.  As  the  Westminster  Assembly, 
composed  as  it  was  largely  of  members  of  the  Church 
of  England,  determined  to  have  nothing  in  their 
work  which  could  not  be  substantiated  by  the  Word 


184  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

of  God,  it  could  not  but  reach  the  conclusion  that 
the  Presbyterian  Form  of  Government  was  revealed 
in  the  Holy  Scriptures. 

Before  the  days  of  Laud  the  Church  of  England 
received  without  reordination  Presbyterian  ministers 
from  all  the  Reformed  Churches  of  Europe.  The 
ever-to-be-despised  prelate,  however,  could  not  devise 
means  cruel  enough  to  drive  Presbyterians  from  the 
face  of  the  earth,  but  he  did  drive  thousands  of 
them  from  the  face  of  England,  only  to  establish  the 
strongest  and  best  government  on  the  surface  of  the 
globe,  where  all  men  may  enjoy  the  fullest  and  the 
sweetest  liberty  noble  souls  ever  enjoy — the  liberty  to 
worship  God  according  to  the  dictates  of  their  own 
enlightened  consciences. 

3.  The  Constitution  includes  a  complete  System  of 
Discipline.  There  was  no  Book  of  Discipline  adopted 
by  the  Westminster  Assembly.  The  Synod  of  1788 
made  a  little  book  of  only  seven  pages,  which  it 
called  "  Forms  of  Process."  This  has  since  been 
greatly  enlarged  under  the  title,  "  Book  of  Dis- 
cipline." 

Discipline  is  intended  to  safe-guard  the  Church 
and  the  religious  lives  of  its  individual  members. 
Sometimes  it  is  said  our  Calvinistic  theology  has  a 
tendency  to  make  men  indifferent  as  to  the  lives  they 
live,  but  there  never  was  a  graver  blunder.  Dr. 
Chalmers  said,  "  Wherever  there  has  been  most  Cal- 
vinism, men  have  been  most  moral;"  and  Froude 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  185 

says,  "  The  practical  effect  of  a  belief  is  the  real  test 
of  its  soundness." 

Look  at  the  fruits  of  the  Calvinistic  system  and 
you  will  discover  that  its  doctrinal  belief  and  its 
disciplinary  government  have  had  a  most  happy 
effect  upon  the  lives  of  its  adherents.  The  sover- 
eignty of  God  settles  the  discipline  of  the  Church 
and  governs  the  lives  of  its  members,  for  God  is  the 
Lord  of  the  conscience. 

4.  The  Constitution  includes  a  Directory  for  Wor- 
ship. The  Westminster  Assembly  could  not  make  a 
Prayer  Book  that  would  suit  both  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land and  the  Church  of  Scotland,  and  the  members 
compromised  on  the  Directory  for  Worship.  Here, 
too,  the  sovereignty  of  God  ruled  their  pronuncia- 
mento,  and  they  would  require  nothing  of  men's 
consciences  which  was  not  positively  required  by  the 
Great  Charter  of  their  authority,  the  infallible  Word 
of  God. 

Here,  then,  we  have  our  ecclesiastical  Constitution 
adopted  by  the  General  Synod  the  same  year  our 
National  Constitution  was  adopted  by  the  United 
States. 

The  American  Presbyterian  Church  under  its  Con- 
stitution of  1788,  which  has  from  time  to  time  been 
modified  and  amended,  has  had  a  most  successful 
career.  Sometimes  the  question  is  asked,  Is  our 
Presb)'terian  Church  adapted  to  the  conversion  of 
the  world  ?     Look  at  its  complete  organization,  with 


186  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

its  "  orthodox  and  excellent  system  of  Christian  doc- 
trine," its  representative  government,  its  admirable 
discipline,  and  its  simple  and  dignified  mode  of  wor- 
ship, and  what  can  be  added  to  its  Constitution  to 
make  it  better  adapted  to  the  great  purposes  of 
spreading  the  gospel  to  the  uttermost  bounds  of 
the  world? 

The  American  Presbyterian  Church  is  an  orthodox 
Church,  holding  only  such  doctrines  as  are  clearly 
taught  in  the  Word  of  God.  It  is  an  evangelical 
Church,  holding  the  Bible,  the  whole  Bible,  and 
nothing  but  the  Bible  to  be  "  the  very  Word  of 
God,"  the  only  and  infallible  rule  of  faith  and 
practice. 

We  hear  the  cry  on  every  hand  to-day,  "  Back  to 
Christ !  Back  to  Christ !"  What  does  it  mean  ? 
How  do  you  get  "  back  to  Christ "  but  through  the 
gateway  of  the  inspired  Word  and  the  guiding  Spirit 
of  the  living  God?  To  get  back  to  him  we  must  get 
back  to  his  very  words  as  they  have  been  written  by 
his  inspired  apostles,  study  his  ethical  teachings, 
drink  in  of  his  spirit,  meditate  upon  his  matchless 
model  of  manhood,  and  be  aroused  to  the  grandeur 
of  his  atoning  sacrifice  for  sin.  Then  in  his  name, 
by  his  authority,  in  his  place,  by  his  help,  by  love  to 
him,  by  hope  in  him,  and  for  his  glory,  preach  and 
teach  the  everlasting  gospel  by  word  and  by  life ;  be- 
coming living  epistles  of  his  sovereign  grace  known 
and  read  of  all  men. 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  187 

Our  Church,  it  may  here  be  appropriately  said,  has 
always  placed  great  value  upon  catechetical  instruc- 
tion. The  early  Church  spread  the  truths  of  salva- 
tion very  largely  through  catechetical  instruction, 
and  the  Roman  empire  was  Christianized  in  three 
centuries  by  this  method.  The  Reformers,  Luther, 
Knox,  Zwingle,  Cranmer,  Ridley,  the  old  Walden- 
sian  church,  exalted  this  mode  of  instruction,  and 
the  Westminster  Assembly  spent  five  years  in  pre- 
paring the  Catechisms,  and  woe  be  the  day  to  the 
Presbyterian  Church  when  she  ceases  to  teach  the 
children  of  the  covenant  the  great  fundamental  doc- 
trines on  which  she  has  built  her  splendid  ecclesi- 
astical structure.  Next  to  the  Bible  the  world 
can  spare  any  other  book  better  than  the  Shorter 
Catechism. 

Again  the  American  Presbyterian  Church  is  a 
magnanimous  Church.  Our  form  of  government 
and  our  system  of  doctrine  both  tend  to  develop  an 
unflinching  independence  of  character  and  an  ardent 
love  of  religious  liberty,  and  whilst  our  idea  of  the 
sovereignty  of  God  and  his  lordship  over  men's  con- 
sciences compels  us  to  demand  liberty  of  conscience 
for  ourselves,  it  also  compels  us  to  demand  equal 
rights  and  privileges  for  all  mankind. 

The  American  Presbyterian  Church  is  also  a  benev- 
olent Church,  and  it  is  doing  more  for  the  world's 
evangelization  than  all  other  churches  in  the  United 
States.     It  is  further  a  progressive  Church,  immov- 


188  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

ably  determined  to  conquer  the  world  for  King  Jesus. 
Archbishop  Hughes  says  of  our  General  Assembly: 
"  It  acts  on  the  principle  of  a  radiating  centre,  and  is 
without  equal  or  rival  among  the  other  denomina- 
tions of  the  country ;  "  and  we  may  add  that  the 
General  Assembly  is  to-day  the  greatest  missionary 
organization  upon  the  face  of  the  globe. 

Again,  with  a  creed  and  polity  adapted  to  the  con- 
version of  the  world  to  Christ,  and  to  the  consolida- 
tion of  the  churches  of  the  world  in  one  grand  rep- 
resentative organism,  our  Church  is  bent  on  the 
gathering  of  all  the  friends  of  Christ  into  a  glorious 
Solidarity — the  Kingdom  of  God — embracing  all  the 
true  followers  of  the  King  of  kings ;  for  it  believes 
that  this  consummated  fact  and  this  unparalleled 
glory  of  the  Church  of  Christ  are  foreordained  of 
God,  and  that  his  plan  shall  not  be  frustrated  by  the 
powers  of  darkness. 

We  do  not  stand  in  idleness  or  despair  by  the 
grave  of  the  past  glory  of  the  Kingdom.  Nearly 
10,000,000  of  people  to-day  receive  and  adopt  the 
Westminster  Standards,  and  with  optimistic  hopes 
they  move  forward  on  their  world-wide  mission. 

When  Adoniram  Judson  was  asked  what  are  the 
prospects  for  foreign  missions,  his  reply  was  given  in 
words  that  ring  like  silver  chimes : 

"BRIGHT  AS  THE  PROMISES  OF  GOD!" 

The  world  is  open  for  the  sacramental  host  of  God 
to  move  forward  in  solid  and  unflinching  columns  to 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  189 

take  possession  of  the  nations ;  and  we  are  moving 
onward  with  cheerful  hopefulness,  believing  that  it 
has  been  foreordained  that  the  kingdoms  of  this 
world  shall  become  the  kingdom  of  our  glorious 
Lord  and  his  all-conquering  Christ. 


THE  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCHES  AND 
THE   PEOPLE. 

BY 

Gen.  JAMES  A.   BEAVER, 

EX-GOVERNOR  OF   PENNSYLVANIA. 


THE  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCHES  AND 
THE  PEOPLE. 

BY 

Gen.  JAMES  A.  BEAVER, 

EX-GOVERNOR  OP   PENNSYLVANIA. 


Fellow  Presbyterians: 

As  I  look  into  your  patient  faces  on  this  great 
field  day  of  ecclesiastical  oratory,  I  am  reminded, 
and  take  courage  from  the  fact,  that  the  climax 
of  Presbyterian  graces,  as  summed  up  in  "  the  bene- 
fits which  in  this  life  do  either  accompany  or  flow 
from  justification,  adoption,  and  sanctification "  is 
"perseverance  therein  to  the  end." 

We  have  a  great  history.  It  has  been  presented  to 
us  in  a  magnificent  setting.  How  our  hearts  burned 
within  us  as  we  heard  of  the  dangers  met,  of  the 
deeds  done,  and  of  the  duties  performed  by  the  goodly 
ancestors  from  whom  we  have  received  the  rich  heri- 
tage we  now  enjoy ! 

As  you  have  been  informed  by  the  programme,  the 
themes  of  the  day  are  not  all  or  at  least  not  entirely 
historical.  The  lessons  which  we  have  learned  will 
have  practical  value  only  as  they  strengthen   us  for 

13  193 


194  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

the  discharge  of  our  own  duty.  Mine  is  the  privilege 
of  attempting  to  throw  the  searchlight  of  past  experi- 
ence across  the  pathway  of  the  present  and  into  the 
immediate  future.  I  am  to  deal  with  two  generic  and 
comprehensive  terms.  They  have  special  meaning 
as  applied  to  each  other,  and  are  to  be  interpreted  in 
the  light  of  history,  and  especially  of  the  history  of 
which  we  have  heard  to-day.  The  development  of 
the  historical  meaning  and  the  delineation  of  the 
historical  setting  of  either  of  these  terms  would 
more  than  exhaust  the  time  allotted  to  this  address. 
What  we  have  already  heard  must  suffice,  and  is 
all-sufficient  in  these  respects.  Let  my  words  be 
plain,  practical,  and,  as  far  as  possible,  pointed. 

The  Committee  of  Arrangements  has  asked  me  to 
speak  upon  "  The  Presbyterian  Churches  and  the 
People."  Who  are  the  people?  Viewed  from  the 
standpoint  of  history,  those  who  stood  for  the  rights 
and  the  interests  of  the  people  have  constituted  a 
small  minority  of  the  mass  of  mankind.  When 
James  I.  of  England,  with  the  knowledge  and  experi- 
ence of  Scottish  character  and  the  inevitable  ten- 
dency of  Scottish  Presbj'^terianism,  made  the  emphatic 
declaration,  "  No  bishop,  no  king,"  he  announced  a 
fundamental  truth  essential  alike  to  monarchy  and 
hierarchy.  They  are  interdependent  and  mutually 
supporting.  In  all  the  long,  strange  story  of  liberty, 
written  in  the  blood  of  the  people  during  the  cen- 
turies  which   are    behind  us,  emperors   and   popes,' 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  195 

cardinals  and  kings,  lords  and  bishops  have 
seldom  been  of,  and  more  seldom  for,  the  people. 
Monarchy  and  hierarchy  alike  have  not  only 
been  opposed  to,  bnt  have  combined  to  oppose 
the  fundamental  idea  of  representative  popular 
government,  in  which  the  interests  of  the  people 
should  rise  superior  to  those  of  the  class.  Now  and 
again,  as  when  the  lords  and  barons  of  England  ex- 
acted from  King  John,  Magna  Charta,  or  the  Duke 
of  Argyle  and  the  lords  of  Scotland  joined  in  the 
Solemn  League  and  Covenant,  class  privileges  have 
been  held  subservient  to  popular  rights,  but  these 
have  been  exceptions  which  only  emphasized  the 
rule.  Equally  true  is  it  that  wealth,  which  through 
the  ages  has  been  for  the  most  part  concentrated  in 
the  hands  of  the  church  and  of  the  so-called  privi- 
leged classes,  has  not  yet  been  on  the  side  of  the 
people  nor  used  in  their  interests.  And  what  is  true 
of  the  past  is  equally  true  of  the  present.  The  de- 
votees of  fashion,  frivolity,  and  pleasure,  incapable 
alike  of  serious  thought  or  earnest  effort,  intent  only 
upon  self-indulgence  and  self-seeking,  have  not  been 
in  the  past  and  are  not  now  upon  the  side  of  the  people. 
At  the  other  extreme,  ignorance  and  folly,  penury 
and  pauperism,  vice  and  crime  have  been  equally  the 
bitter  and  malignant  foes  of  the  people,  and  have  re- 
pressed and  retarded  the  development  of  popular 
government,  which  in  our  day  is  reaching  its  full 
and  final  consummation. 


196  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

Throughout  the  ages  the  men  who  do  and  dare, 
who  sacrifice  and  suffer,  who  espouse  a  great  cause 
and  die  for  it,  are  to  be  found  between  the  extremes  of 
organized  society,  among  the  so-called  middle  classes, 
— what  Mr.  Lincoln  called  the  common  people, — 
among  the  men  who  think  first  and  strike  afterward, 
who  act  not  from  impulse  but  from  principle,  and 
who  are  willing  to  follow  principle  to  its  legitimate 
conclusions.  These,  as  a  rule,  are  the  sifted  men  who 
constitute  the  real  people  of  every  age,  by  whom  the 
battles  of  the  people  have  been  fought,  and  through 
whom  the  sovereignty  of  the  people  has  been  estab- 
lished and  maintained.  This  it  is  necessary  to  keep  in 
mind  in  considering  the  theme  which  now  demands 
our  attention. 

What  is  Presbyterianism  ?  What  the  essentials  in 
which  it  is  grounded,  and  upon  which  its  superstruct- 
ure of  doctrine,  government,  and  worship  has  been 
established  ? 

As  to  doctrine.  Believing  in  the  absolute  sover- 
eignty of  God,  it  is  ready  to  accept  the  legitimate 
consequences  of  that  belief,  whether  they  can  be 
measured  and  understood  by  the  finite  mind  or  not. 
Acknowledging  the  divine  Christ  as  the  Head  of  his 
Church  in  the  world,  it  accepts  him  as  its  infallible 
teacher,  as  its  all-sufficient  atonement,  and  as  its  king 
and  ruler.  It  can,  therefore,  in  the  nature  of  things, 
have  no  other  infallible  teacher,  has  no  place  for  a 
priest  to  come  between  it  and  him  who  offered  him- 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  197 

self  as  a  sacrifice  for  the  sins  of  the  world,  and  owns 
allegiance  to  no  other  ruler  in  spiritual  things.  It 
dej)lores  man's  lost  estate  and  "  the  sin  and  misery 
into  which  the  fall  brought  mankind,"  but  rejoices  in 
the  estate  of  salvation  into  which  he  is  brought  by 
the  only  Redeemer  of  God's  elect.  It  magnifies 
the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Although  some  have 
criticised  its  Standards,  because  of  the  lack  of  suffi- 
cient description  and  emphasis  of  his  personality,  it, 
nevertheless,  recognizes  his  all-sufficient  power  in 
moving  upon  the  hearts  of  men,  in  convincing  them 
of  their  sin  and  misery,  in  renewing  their  wills,  and 
in  persuading  and  enabling  them  to  embrace  Jesus 
Christ  as  he  is  freely  offered  to  them  in  the  gospel. 
His  is  the  power  which  is  recognized  by  it  as  accom- 
panying the  word  which  he  has  inspired,  wdien  read 
and  preached. 

It  accepts  and  insists  upon  the  acceptance  of  the 
Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  as  the 
only  infallible  rule  of  faith  and  practice.  It  accepts 
the  moral  law,  "  as  summarily  comprehended  in  the 
Ten  Commandments,"  as  binding  upon  the  conscience 
and  the  life,  and  emphasizes  both  their  letter  and 
their  spirit  as  interpreted  and  taught  by  the  divine 
Teacher.  These  and  other  doctrines  which  need  not 
now  be  enumerated  constitute  its  system  of  doctrine. 
You  may  call  it  Pauline,  or  Augustinian,  or  Calvin- 
istic.  It  is  all  of  these  and  more.  You  may  name 
it  for  Knox,  or  Edwards,  or  Hodge — for  any  one  or 


198  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

for  all  three — and  it  will  be  true  to  name.  If  true, 
this  system  of  doctrine  becomes  no  more  true,  because 
expounded  or  enlarged  upon  or  believed  in  by  any 
number  of  the  learned  and  godly  men  who  have 
believed  in  it  and  died  in  the  faith  which  it  teaches. 
It  is  to  be  accepted  and  maintained  and  taught  and 
lived,  not  because  of  its  name,  or  because  of  the  men 
who  have  believed  in  it  and  rejoiced  in  teaching  it, 
but  because  it  is  essentially  scriptural,  and  embodies 
in  itself  the  unadulterated  and  infallible  truth. 

As  to  government.  It  is,  as  we  believe,  simply 
scriptural.  When  the  multitude  of  the  disciples, 
under  the  direction  of  the  apostles,  chose  Stephen 
and  his  compeers  as  their  representatives  to  adminis- 
ter the  temporalities  of  the  Church,  in  order  that  the 
apostles  might  give  themselves  "  continually  to  prayer 
and  to  the  ministry  of  the  word,"  they  established 
both  a  precedent  and  a  practice  which  is  at  once  the 
germ  of  and  the  authority  for  the  representative 
government  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  This  fun- 
damental idea  of  elected  representatives,  and  as  a 
logical  sequence,  responsible  representation,  underlies 
the  entire  system  of  Presbyterianism  which  domi- 
nates not  onl}-  our  church  government  but  has  been 
imparted,  largely  through  the  influence  of  those  who 
were  Presbyterians,  to  our  civil  government  as  well. 

As  to  the  order  of  its  worship.  Protesting  against 
ritualistic  mummery,  it  may  for  the  time  have  swung 
to  the  opposite  extreme,  but  in  its  provisions  for  the 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  199 

service  of  praise  and  of  prayer,  for  the  reading  and 
the  preaching  of  the  Word,  and  for  the  service  of  God 
by  offerings,  it  denies  nothing  which  is  enjoined  by 
Scripture,  and  offers  to  all  men  everywhere,  in  the 
language  most  familiar  to  them,  an  order  of  worship 
which  in  its  practical  effect  will  best  meet  the  needs 
of  the  worshipper,  and  tend  by  the  influence  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  to  build  him  "  up  in  holiness  and  com- 
fort, through  faith,  unto  salvation." 

It  will  be  seen  from  this  short  review  of  its  funda- 
mental character,  especially  as  to  church  govern- 
ment, what  the  people  have  done  for  Presbyterianism. 
It  will  also  be  seen,  upon  very  slight  reflection,  that 
the  relations  between  the  people  and  Presbyterianism 
are  reciprocal.  If  the  people,  as  the  outcome  of  a 
long  and  bloody  contest,  secured  a  representative 
government,  it  must  be  confessed  that  the  Presby- 
terian Church  has  not  only  been  true  to  its  scriptural 
doctrinal  standards,  but  has  endeavored  to  teach  the 
people  the  essential  truths  of  representative  govern- 
ment for  the  Church,  and,  as  the  outcome  thereof 
and  incidental  thereto,  of  a  free,  representative  gov- 
ernment for  all  mankind.  It  would  be  interesting 
to  enlarge  upon  this  statement  and  to  give  the  proofs 
thereof,  particularly  as  they  relate  to  the  organization 
and  adoption  of  constitutional,  representative  govern- 
ment in  our  own  country,  but  time  fails  me,  for  we 
must  consider,  as  the  more  important  and  practical 
part  of  this  address : — 


200  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

The  obligations  which  grow  out  of  the  relations 
between  the  Presbyterian  Churches  and  the  people. 
If  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  doctrine,  in  government, 
and  in  order,  has  divine  authority  for  what  it  believes 
and  teaches,  it  rests  and  must  of  necessity  rest  upon  an 
infallible  Word,  and  this  Word  must  be  maintained 
in  its  integrity.  Multitudes  of  men  and  women 
profoundly  believe  that  the  word  of  God  which  is 
contained  in  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New 
Testaments  is  divinely  inspired,  and  is  the  only 
infallible  rule  of  faith  and  practice,  and  the  man 
who  undertakes  designedly  to  undermine  or  in 
thoughtless  ignorance  attempts  to  destroy  that  faith, 
is  an  enemy  of  his  kind,  and  the  Church  which  per- 
mits it  to  be  done  or  aids  and  abets  in  his  doing  so, 
is  no  longer  worthy  the  confidence  and  respect  of  its 
constituency.  It  should,  as  it  undoubtedly  will,  be 
left  to  the  ways  of  its  own  devising  and  be  driven  to 
wander  in  the  barren  wastes  of  its  utter  faithlessness. 
It  is  barely  possible  for  a  man,  by  much  study,  to 
make  himself  so  mad  as  to  believe  that  two  and  two 
make  five.  Granted  that  it  is  possible  for  him  to 
believe  in  this  absurdity,  yet  when  he  comes  to  preach 
it  to  the  common,  hard-headed,  thinking  Presby- 
terians who  know  that  two  and  two  make  four,  he 
will  find  himself  bereft  of  a  following,  and  the  Church 
which  permits  it  will  find  itself,  as  it  ought,  destitute 
of  a  constituency.  If  the  Presbyterian  Churches  are 
mindful  of  their  obligations  to  the  people,  they  will 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  201 

be  true  to  that  system  of  sound  doctrine  formulated 
and  promulgated  by  tlie  learned  Assembly  of  which 
we  have  heard  so  much  to-day,  and  which  in  its  es- 
sentials finds  expression  in  that  logical  and  matchless 
compendium  which  we  call  the  Shorter  Catechism. 
Just  here  we  may  well  consider  whether  it  may 
not  be  necessary  for  the  Presbyterian  Churches  to  go 
backward  before  they  can  go  forward.  May  it  not 
be  well  to  retrace  our  steps  and  pick  up  some  of  the 
strong  threads  of  the  warp  of  Presbyterianism  which 
have  been  dropped,  and  weave  upon  them  that  strong 
web  of  faith  and  duty  which  serves  alike  as  a  sure 
repose  from  the  disquiet  within,  and  as  a  defence  from 
the  elements  of  doubt  and  discord  from  without.  I 
mean  by  this  that  it  will  not  do  to  rely  upon  the 
Sabbath-School,  the  Christian  Endeavor  Society,  or 
any  other  agency  to  take  the  place  of  the  old  and 
time-honored  custom  of  family  instruction  in  the 
standards  of  the  Church.  If  we  could  restore  the 
old-fashioned  family  instruction  in  the  Shorter  Cate- 
chism, which  led  in  many  families  to  what  is  known 
as  "  the  passing  of  the  question  " — that  is,  giving  the 
answer  to  the  question  previously  asked  and  asking 
the  next  question  in  order,  in  the  Catechism,  without 
book  and  without  reminder,  we  might  dismiss  all 
apprehension  as  to  the  effect  of  the  rather  ancient 
and  flat,  if  not  exploded,  theories  of  German  ration- 
alism and  doubt  which  are  being  re-hashed  and  dealt 
out  to  us,  under  the  guise  of  modern  learning  and 


202  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

research.  More  systematic  training  of  the  young  in 
the  fundamentals  of  Presbyterianism  will  mean  less 
of  theological  vagaries  in  the  old. 

If  the  Presbyterian  Church  be  true  to  itself  and 
to  the  people  whom  it  represents,  it  must  keep  "  pure 
and  entire  all  such  religious  worship  and  ordinances 
as  God  hath  appointed  in  his  word,  expressly  one 
whole  day  in  seven  to  be  a  holy  Sabbath  to  him- 
self." It  is  necessary  to  have  not  only  an  order  of 
worship,  but  a  time  for  worship,  and,  whilst  we 
may  be  busied  not  unwisely  about  responsive  read- 
ings and  other  means  of  popularizing  the  worship 
of  God  in  the  sanctuary,  let  us  remember,  as  a 
truth  to  be  practised  in  our  own  living  and  to  be 
taught  from  the  pulpit  and  the  teacher's  chair,  in 
church,  in  Sabbath -School,  and  in  the  home,  that 
"  the  Sabbath  is  to  be  sanctified  by  a  holy  resting  all 
that  day,  even  from  such  worldly  employments  and 
recreations  as  are  lawful  on  other  days,  and  spending 
the  whole  time  in  the  public  and  private  exercises  of 
God's  worship,  except  so  much  as  is  to  be  taken  up 
in  the  works  of  necessity  and  mercy."  This  is  very 
old-fashioned  doctrine.  It  smacks,  to  those  of  you 
who  recognize  it,  of  the  Westminster  Assembly  ;  but, 
if  there  is  anything  which  the  churches  of  to-day, 
Presbyterian  as  well  as  those  of  other  names,  need  to 
have  reiterated  and  emphasized,  it  is  this  old-fash- 
ioned truth  in  regard  to  the  observance  of  the 
Sabbath. 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  203 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say,  and  yet  this  is  not  an 
altogether  inopportune  time  to  say  it,  that  the  Presby- 
terian Church  owes  it  to  the  people  to  maintain  in  its 
integrity  and  to  be  unswervingly  true  to  its  repre- 
sentative system  of  government.  This,  being  inter- 
preted, means  that  the  representatives  of  the  people 
must  govern.  I  am  not  one  of  those  who  apprehend 
great  danger  from  the  growth  and  increasing  influ- 
ence of  our  so- called  church  institutions,  but  it  is 
nevertheless  true  that  institutions,  as  individuals,  are 
like  Jeshurun ;  when  they  wax  fat,  they  kick.  Our 
representative  government  is  so  organized  theoreti- 
cally and  so  administered  in  practice,  that  we  have 
little  to  fear  from  this  source,  if  the  Church's  repre- 
sentatives are  true  to  themselves  and  their  constitu- 
ents. The  remedy  for  supposed  evils  in  this  direc- 
tion is  in  the  hands  of  the  people,  and,  at  the  very 
first  intimation  of  centralization  or  dictation,  it  is  the 
duty  of  the  representatives  of  the  people  to  demand 
of  the  servants  of  the  Church  absolute  and  uncondi- 
tional subserviency  to  their  will. 

I  have  no  desire  to  trench  upon  the  subjects  of 
those  who  are  to  come  after  me,  but  the  presentation 
of  the  obligations  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  to  the 
people  would  be  manifestly  incomplete  without  at 
least  a  reference  to  the  subject  of  education.  Our 
Church  for  many  years  led  in  the  facilities  which  it 
afforded  for  higher  education.  It  has  lost  first  place 
in  this  respect  and  now  occupies  third  or  fourth  place. 


204  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

If  Presbyterianism  is  to  be  true  to  itself  as  well  as 
faithful  to  its  constituency,  it  must  bring  a  liberal 
education  within  the  reach  of  all  who  desire  to  secure 
such  an  education.  More  than  that,  it  must  carry 
education,  as  it  carries  the  gospel,  to  the  masses. 
It  is  true  now,  as  it  has  always  been,  that  the  pres- 
ence of  the  facilities  for  securing  begets  the  desire  to 
secure  a  liberal  education.  Log  colleges  such  as  were 
planted  by  the  Tennents  in  eastern  Pennsylvania  and 
by  MacMillan  in  western  Pennsylvania,  are  not  to  be 
duplicated  or  multiplied  as  such,  but  what  they  were  in 
their  day,  to  their  generation,  must  be  established  in 
our  day,  for  our  generation,  in  every  locality  where 
there  is  a  constituency  which  can  support,  or  which  is 
likely  to  be  able  to  support  such  an  institution.  The 
small  college  not  onl}^  brings  education  within  the 
reach  of  many  who  would  otherwise  be  deprived  of  the 
opportunity  to  secure  it,  but  in  the  judgment  of  very 
many  educators  and  practical  men,  it  does  more  for 
the  development  of  manly  men,  and  for  fitting  its 
students  for  the  practical  work  of  this  practical  age, 
than  the  so-called  great  university.  I  make  no  plea 
for  the  university.  It  can  take  care  of  itself  If  the 
Presbyterian  Church  believes  in  itself  and  in  what  it 
teaches,  it  must  educate  its  own  sons  and  daughters 
in  the  future,  as  in  the  past,  in  its  own  institutions  of 
learning,  planted  in  the  immediate  neighborhood  of 
those  who  are  to  be  educated.  My  plea,  therefore,  is 
for  the  establishment  of  the  small  college,  wherever 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  205 

there  may  be  reasonable  assurance  of  support,  through 
the  agency  of  the  youngest  of  our  Boards,  the  import- 
ance of  whose  work  and  the  efficient  and  conservative 
character  of  what  has  been  ah-cady  accomplished,  be- 
ing apparently  but  little  known  and  appreciated  by 
the  Church  at  large.  The  means  for  the  prosecution 
of  its  w^ork  should  be  multiplied  immediately,  at  least 
tenfold. 

I  may  not  speak  of  missions  after  what  has  been 
said  in  this  Assembly  and  what  is  to  be  said  this 
evening  from  this  platform.  It  would  seem  as  if  the 
Presbyterian  Church  was  taking  a  new  grasp  of  the 
subject  and  was  to  carry  forward  its  work  both  at 
home  and  abroad  with  more  of  energy  and  efficiency 
than  ever  before.  This  must  be  so  if  Presbyterianism 
is  to  maintain  itself  as  an  aggressive  force  in  doing  its 
share  in  Christianizing  the  w^orld.  Through  our  mis- 
sionary agencies  the  Church  is  to  come  into  close  and 
intimate  touch  with  the  masses  of  the  people  to  whom 
it  has  a  God-given  mission.  Through  our  home  mis- 
sionaries especially  we  are  to  come  into  touch  with 
and  train  tlie  conservative  forces  in  the  newer  parts  of 
our  country  which  under  God  are  to  preserve  to  the 
nation,  as  an  example  to  the  world,  the  free  repre- 
sentative government  for  which  the  Presbyterian 
Church  so  conspicuously  stands. 

Time  fails  me  to  speak  of  the  duty  of  our  churches 
of  the  Presbyterian  faith  to  the  exceptional  popula- 
tions, which  have  grown  up  in  our  midst  and  are 


206  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

thrust  upon  us  from  without ;  of  the  agencies  which 
have  been  established  by  the  wisdom  of  the  Church 
in  the  past  for  reaching  some  of  these  exceptional 
races  and  peoples  to  whom  we  undoubtedly  have  a 
mission  and  for  whom  we  are  responsible ;  of  those 
other  beneficent  agencies  whose  province  it  is  to 
found  Sabbath-schools  and  supervise  the  teaching 
of  our  young  people  therein ;  which  help  to  build 
churches  and  manses  in  new  and  destitute  places ; 
which  assist  in  the  education  of  young  men  for  the 
ministry;  and  which  care  all  too  insufficiently  for 
those  faithful  servants  of  the  Church  who  have  borne 
the  burden  and  heat  of  the  day,  and  for  the  de- 
pendent ones  of  those  who  have  laid  down  their 
lives  in  its  service  for  the  help  of  mankind.  These 
agencies,  established  by  the  wisdom  of  the  Church 
and  maintained  by  its  beneficence,  afford  the  means 
through  which  we  as  Christians  are  to  bear  "  one 
another's  burdens  and  so  fulfil  the  law  of  Christ," 
and  thus,  by  the  sacrifice  of  self  and  through  the  joy 
of  service,  to  provide  for  our  own  "  spiritual  nourish- 
ment and  growth  in  grace." 

In  this  connection  need  it  be  said — alas !  that  it 
should  be  necessary  to  be  said — the  Church  owes  it 
to  its  own  membership  to  cultivate  and  stimulate  by 
all  the  means  within  its  power  the  grace  of  systematic 
giving.  If  Christian  giving  be  a  Christian  grace, 
and  if  the  manner  of  its  exercise  is  taught  in  the 
Scriptures,  it  is  clearly  the  duty  of  the  Church  to 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  207 

make  it  the  subject  of  study  in  our  theological  schools 
and  of  regular  instruction  from  our  pulpits.  The 
great  majority  of  the  teaching  elders  of  the  Presbyte- 
rian Church,  either  do  not  believe  that  Christian  giv- 
ing is  a  Christian  grace  or  do  not  teach  what  they 
believe.  Our  beneficent  agencies  languish  and  lack 
funds,  not  because  our  people  lack  interest  in  them 
or  fail  to  respond  to  the  proper  presentation  of  their 
claims,  but  because,  as  a  Church,  we  are  slip-shod  and 
faithless  in  our  teachings  generally,  as  to  the  funda- 
mental question  which  was  the  subject  of  the  exhorta- 
tion of  the  apostle  Paul  to  the  Corinthian  Church, 
when  he  said :  "  See  that  ye  abound  in  this  grace 
also."  If  the  treasuries  of  our  beneficent  agencies 
are  to  be  kept  filled  to  the  point  of  their  needs,  and 
are  to  be  ready  to  meet  the  increasing  demands  which 
are  made  upon  our  distinctively  missionary  agencies, 
so  admirably  adapted  in  design  and  execution  for 
the  work  which  they  have  to  do,  it  will  only  be  when 
there  is  a  general  awakening  in  the  Church  to  the 
necessity  for  systematic  teaching  in  regard  to  system- 
atic giving,  and  when  the  wise  and  helpful  provisions 
of  Chapter  VI.  of  our  present  Directory  of  Worship, 
are  put  into  active  operation  and  cease  to  be  practi- 
cally a  dead  letter  in  our  standards. 

I  would  be  untrue  to  the  promptings  of  my  heart 
did  I  not  make  allusion  to  the  flag  of  our  country 
which  is  displayed  in  such  profusion  all  about  me. 
Its  presence  is  profoundly  significant  at  this  time. 


208  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

The  men  who  wore  the  blue  and  the  men  who  wore 
the  gray  a  generation  ago,  are  marching  shoulder  to 
shoulder  beneath  its  folds  in  a  common  effort  to  repress 
cruelty,  injustice,  and  wrong,  and  to  bring  the  uplift  of 
hope  and  freedom  to  an  oppressed  people.  In  this  we 
cannot  but  rejoice,  yea,  and  do  rejoice.  Miles  and  Lee, 
Brooke  and  Wheeler,  and  those  whom  they  represent, 
march  together  in  a  common  cause,  beneath  the  Stars 
and  Stripes !  But  where  are  the  divided  hosts  of  Pres- 
byterianism  ?  Shall  they  gather  again  under  its  blue 
banner,  surmounted  by  the  blood-stained  banner  of 
the  Cross  ?  Oh,  for  the  time  when  our  brethren  of 
the  South  and  we  of  the  North  may  see  eye  to  eye, 
and  join  in  the  discharge  of  the  obligations  which 
are  common  to  us  all !  Is  it  possible  that  love  of 
country  is  a  more  potent  influence  than  the  love  of 
Christ  in  bringing  men  together  in  a  common  ser- 
vice, and  in  making  of  one  heart  and  of  one  mind 
those  who  were  erstwhile  alienated  and  estranged? 
It  would  seem  to  be  so.  Shall  it  continue  so  to  be? 
We  may  not  be  able  by  direct  effort  to  change  pres- 
ent conditions,  but  we  may  be  ready  to  respond  in- 
stantly and  lovingly  to  any  intimation  from  any 
source  that  it  is  desirable  and  becoming  "  for  breth- 
ren to  dwell  together  in  unity."  We  may  be  de- 
voutly solicitous  that  the  Holy  Spirit  by  his  pres- 
ence in  all  hearts  may  hasten  the  time  when  all 
branches  of  the  Church  of  like  faith  and  order  may 
unite,  under  one  denominational  banner,  in  waging 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  209 

the  aggressive  warfare  which  is  to  evangelize  the 
nations  and  prepare  the  world  for  the  universal 
reign  of  the  Prince  of  Peace. 

Fathers  and  brethren,  tlie  quarter  millenium  be- 
hind us  is  history.  We  can  do  little  more  than  re- 
count it  and  profit  by  its  lessons.  The  quarter  mil- 
lenium before  us  is  to  us  scarcely  a  prophecy.  It 
has  possibilities.  Are  we  awake  to  them  ?  It  has 
obligations.  Are  we  equal  to  them  ?  In  the  little 
portion  of  it  allotted  to  us,  we  are  to  make  history. 
How  shall  those  who  come  after  us  write  it  ?  God  pays 
his  tribute  of  respect  to  us,  as  the  crown  of  his  crea- 
tion, by  trying  us,  by  testing  us,  by  placing  responsi- 
bility upon  us.  Shall  history  write  of  us,  in  the 
administration  of  the  great  trust  which  has  been 
committed  to  our  keeping,  what  we  have  this  day 
written  of  the  fathers — faithful,  true,  tried  and  not 
found  wanting? 

14 


THE  PRESBYTERIAN   CHURCHES 
AND   EDUCATION. 


BY 

Gen.  JOHN   EATON,  LL.  D., 

KX-V.  S.   COMMISSIONER  OF  EDUCATION. 


THE  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCHES  AND 
EDUCATION. 

BY 

Gen.  JOHN  EATON,  LL.  D., 

EX-U.  S.  COMMISSIONER   OP   EDUCATION. 


The  celebration  of  the  Two  Hundred  and  Fiftieth 
Anniversary  of  the  Westminster  Assembly  may  well 
include  the  consideration  of  the  Presbyterian  Churches 
and  Education ;  for 

First,  education  prepared  the  members  of  the  As- 
sembly for  the  formulation  of  their  remarkable  utter- 
ances ;  second,  Presbyterian  Churches  have  existed 
since,  by  reason  of  the  education  of  their  members 
in  these  trutlis. 

We  can  neither  pause  to  dwell  on  the  scope  in- 
tended in  the  use  of  the  term  Presbyterian  Clmrches, 
nor  to  discuss  the  definition  of  Education.  Only  so 
much  of  the  opinions  or  character  of  any  present 
generation  can  continue  in  the  future  as  may  be  con- 
vej'ed  by  education.  Presbyterian  Churches  are  such 
only  by  reason  of  their  distinctive  belief  and  conduct ; 
the  only  means  of  their  perpetuity  is  education  ;  they 
must  educate  or  perish ;    they  must  preserve   their 

213 


214  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

purity  and  soundness  by  education  or  become  cor- 
rupted and  change  their  character ;  they  must  pre- 
possess mind  by  right  education  or  it  may  be  given 
such  a  twist  by  error  that  the  truth  cannot  reach  the 
soul  through  which  the  Holy  Spirit  operates  for  con- 
version and  sanctification. 

The  felicitous  phrase  used  by  George  Peabody, 
"  Education,  a  debt  due  from  present  to  future  gener- 
ations," which  he  so  far  repaid  in  the  gift  of  his  mil- 
lions, for  Presbyterian  Churches  must  mean  more 
than  the  gift  of  wealth — must  mean  all  they  can 
accomplish  by  the  gift  of  wealth,  by  prayers  and 
worship,  by  preaching  and  teaching,  and  by  the  force 
of  example  in  educating  future  generations  in  their 
beliefs  and  form  of  w^orship.  This  power  of  educa- 
tion is  incomparably  the  greatest  in  youth  :  "  As  the 
twig  is  bent,  the  tree  is  inclined."  Then  habits,  a 
second  nature,  are  formed ;  then  man  is  impressible 
as  clay,  but  after  he  has  passed  through  the  heat  of 
experience,  change  is  difficult,  as  pottery  can  only  be 
changed  by  breaking.  Indeed,  education  is  the 
greatest  power  intrusted  to  man.  By  it  he  masters 
himself  and  shapes  the  characters  of  his  fellows,  and 
gains  the  science  and  skill  by  which  he,  for  his  use 
and  purposes,  increases  the  beauty  of  flowers,  im- 
proves the  fruit  of  the  trees,  controls  animals,  fills 
valleys  and  removes  mountains,  invokes  the  power 
of  chemical  affinity  and  of  steam,  commands  the 
lightning,  and  transforms  the  rudeness  of  nature  to 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  215 

his  comfort  and  pleasure.  God  alone  creates,  but 
education,  next  in  power  to  creation,  God  shares  with 
man,  and  imposes  upon  him  the  duty  of  performing 
his  part.  In  discharging  his  responsibility,  man 
opposes  a  plan  of  his  own  to  that  of  God.  In  man's 
plan,  he  seeks  his  own  end ;  God's  plan  is  complete, 
man's  imperfect  or  partial ;  God's  plan  requires  the 
surrender  of  the  human  will ;  to  this  man  objects. 
Doing  his  best  unaided,  man  is  conscious  of  two  dis- 
couraging facts :  the  one  that  he  comes  short  of  real- 
izing his  own  best  thouglit,  and  the  other,  that  for 
his  wrong-doing  sacrifice  is  needed,  and  his  reason 
does  not  disclose  how  that  required  sacrifice  is  pro- 
vided. 

Never  before  has  so  much  attention  been  given  to 
education  as  now.  Assyria  and  Babylon  preserve  in 
their  ruins  some  indication  of  their  systems.  Egypt 
tells  of  its  culture  by  its  pyramids  and  the  winding 
sheets  of  its  dead  ;  Greece  reveals  its  excellence  in 
art,  and  Rome  in  law.  Their  religion  was  the  cen- 
tral thought  and  force  in  their  teaching,  but  there 
w^as  nothing  of  the  true  God  and  the  Messiah.  Even 
in  Rome,  the  husband  and  father  exercised  a  cruel 
supremacy  over  the  wife  and  child  to  the  taking  of 
life ;  the  defective  child  might  be  thrown  out  as  so- 
cial waste.  We  hear  much  of  the  ideal  philosophy 
of  Plato  and  the  Socratic  method  of  questioning. 
Aristotle,  to  whom  modern  education  is  so  greatly 
indebted,  gave  morals  a  subordinate   place   in   his 


216  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

ethics  and  treated  woman  as  dwarfed  man.  To-day, 
by  the  influence  of  Christian  teaching,  it  is  seen  that 
all  are  susceptible  of  education,  and  if  a  cause  is  to 
be  carried,  a  submerged  class  or  a  degraded  race  to 
be  elevated,  or  a  nation  to  be  born  in  a  day,  edu- 
cation is  invoked.  So  greatly  has  its  force  recently 
multiplied  that  1870  is  said  to  mark  a  new  epoch. 
Vast  sums  of  money  are  expended  for  it,  and  its 
literature  has  increased  without  parallel.  But  no 
human  treatise  on  education  equals  the  Bible;  all 
there  is  of  merit  elsewhere  is  contained  in  it;  all 
principles  and  methods  must  be  tested  by  it.  All 
who  would  elevate  mankind  emphasize  high  aims; 
"  Excelsior  "  is  their  motto.  Much  is  made  of  Emer- 
son's advice — "  Hitch  your  wagon  to  a  star."  But 
the  Scriptures  bid  us  aim  above  all  stars,  and  take 
hold  on  the  throne  of  God.  In  physical  education, 
man's  body  is  to  become  the  temple  of  the  living 
God,  his  intellect  is  to  think  the  thoughts  of  God, 
and  his  spirit  to  awake  in  the  divine  likeness.  No 
race  presents  such  an  illustration  of  the  power  of 
education  as  the  Hebrew,  which  amid  whatever  envi- 
ronment, civil  or  religious,  to  this  day  preserves  its 
distinct  characteristics;  the  covenants  made  with 
them  by  the  Almighty  included  posterity ;  the  conse- 
cration of  the  child  was  to  be  marked  by  a  special 
sign,  and  his  inquiries  in  regard  to  observances  and 
symbols  were  to  be  answered  whether  at  home  or  by 
the  way.     But  this  careful  nurture  was  so  perverted 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  217 

that  when  the  Messiah,  foretold  by  their  prophets 
and  emphasized  by  the  instruction  in  their  home  and 
church,  came  among  them  and  gave  unmistakable 
signs  of  his  presence,  they  knew  him  not.  The 
obligations  imposed  on  man  by  the  divine  law,  either 
in  the  training  of  the  child  or  otherwise,  were  not  so 
much  the  acquisition  of  science,  or  wealth,  or  station, 
as  conduct,  conduct  as  piety  toward  God  and  duty  to 
man ;  the  training  of  man's  moral  and  spiritual 
nature  was  to  be  supreme.  The  revelations  and  the 
symbols  used  for  the  training  of  the  infant  race  are 
marvellously  adapted  to  the  instruction  of  the  infant 
mind.  The  coming  of  our  Lord  was  to  light  every 
man ;  form  was  nothing  without  the  spirit.  He 
taught  as  never  man  taught ;  the  fatherhood  of  God 
and  the  brotherhood  of  man  were  revealed  as  never 
before ;  above  the  precepts  of  all  teachers  he  declared, 
*'  Whatsoever  ye  would  that  men  should  do  to  you, 
do  ye  even  so  to  them."  There  was  to  be  no  mediator 
between  God  and  man  save  the  Son,  Jesus  Christ. 
The  prophetic  symbols  and  promises  were  fulfilled  ; 
the  Lamb  was  in  verity  slain,  the  innocent  for  the 
guilty  ;  thus  the  way  of  pardon  was  opened  ;  by  faith 
in  him  the  sense  of  unforgiven  sins  could  be  removed; 
and  no  man,  woman,  or  child  in  the  two  thousand 
years  since  who  has  sought  offered  pardon  has  failed 
of  relief.  Lifinite  aid  was  offered  to  make  the  effort 
of  every  one  effectual ;  faithful  endeavor,  however 
short-coming,  was   assured    of  final    triumph.     The 


218  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

doctrine  of  immortality  was  brought  to  light,  and 
the  ground  of  man's  faith  in  it  made  clear  by  Christ's 
resurrection  and  ascension.  His  offer  of  salvation 
was  made  to  all  without  distinction  of  sex,  or  age,  or 
other  conditions. 

The  scientific  agnostic,  when  he  has  exhausted  his 
assignment  of  the  elements  of  human  nature  to  the 
category  of  industry  and  to  the  category  of  his  self- 
protection  and  the  like,  finds  a  residuum  looking  to 
worship,  and  has  begun  to  assign  these  elements 
which  he  finds  universal  in  man's  nature  to  the  cate- 
gory of  religion,  and  when  he  has  done  this  he  must, 
to  give  man  a  complete  education — that  is,  to  make 
the  most  of  him — and  to  be  consistent,  provide  for  the 
training  of  these  elements  or  for  religious  education. 

When  the  Educational  Commission  connected  with 
the  Japanese  Embassy-extraordinary  to  our  country 
was  puzzled  by  the  part  they  saw  women  taking  as 
teachers  and  pupils  in  our  schools,  apparently  no 
explanation  received  by  them  was  so  satisfactory  as 
the  statement  that  according  to  our  religion  the  pro- 
vision of  salvation  was  through  an  atoning  Saviour, 
the  same  for  man  and  woman.  He  died  for  her  as 
well  as  for  man ;  her  soul  in  his  sight  was  equal  to 
that  of  man,  and,  therefore,  opportunity  for  prepa- 
ration was  required  by  her  as  well  as  by  man.  The 
institutions  which  the  old  dispensation  had  indicated 
were  founded  in  man's  nature  and  the  divine  order ; 
the  family  and  the  State  were  sanctified  anew.   Thirty 


ANNIVERSA R  Y  ADDRESSES.  21 9 

of  the  thirty -three  years  of  Christ's  short  life  were  given 
in  faithful  service  to  his  father  and  mother  that  he 
might  teach  the  importance  of  the  family.  The 
child  he  took  in  his  arms  and  blessed,  and  he  rebuked 
the  conceit  of  those  older  by  declaring  that  they  must 
become  as  little  children  in  their  humility,  confidence, 
and  teachableness.  He  taught  the  duty  of  obedience 
to  civil  law  even  when  perverted ;  he  wrought  a 
miracle  to  pay  tribute  to  the  wicked  Ctesar.  In 
obedience  to  his  command,  his  followers  went  forth 
to  educate  the  world  in  his  doctrine  by  voice  and 
pen,  and  the  witness  of  effectual  aid  was  given  by 
Pentecostal  outpouring  of  the  spirit.  The  new  testa- 
ment of  his  grace  was  closed  with  the  inspired  words 
of  his  disciples.  The  canon  of  the  Scriptures  was 
completed.  The  ups  and  downs  of  education  during 
the  epoch  of  the  gospel  and  the  epoch  of  the  Refor- 
mation would  be  found  related  as  cause  to  effect  in 
the  rise  and  fall  of  empires. 

Presbyterian  conceptions  of  God  and  man  are  so 
adapted  to  human  development  and  so  require  it 
that,  when  in  these  historic  periods  they  approach 
nearest  to  supremacy  in  their  direction  of  human 
tliought,  there  is  to  be  found,  as  a  legitimate  result  in 
their  direction  of  man's  training,  the  best  education 
whether  a  man  is  considered  individually  or  socially. 
The  assumption  of  worldly  power  by  the  bishops  of 
Rome  and  Constantinople  covered  a  multitude  of 
sins,  and  by  their  compromises  with  paganism  intro- 


220  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

duced  many  of  the  worst  evils  of  pagan  education 
into  the  instruction  given  under  their  authority. 
Teachers  of  a  pure  gospel  depended  upon  their  per- 
sonal influence ;  the  schools  of  the  early  fathers  cul- 
minated in  the  instruction  at  Alexandria;  of  the 
four  great  fathers  of  the  Latin  Church,  Ambrose, 
Jerome,  Augustine,  and  Gregory,  each  has  exerted  a 
great  educative  influence  down  to  our  time,  but  none 
of  them  a  greater  in  his  day  or  since  than  Augustine, 
whose  views  in  regard  to  fundamental  doctrines  so 
nearly  agree  with  those  of  the  Presbyterian  Churches. 
For  a  long  period  the  trivium  and  quadrivium 
reigned   supreme   in   higher   courses   of   study. 

The  school  of  the  castle  arose  over  against  the 
monastery  ;  great  teachers  appeared,  and  under  their 
influence,  universities  sprang  into  existence  and  began 
to  exert  a  power  of  their  own  upon  the  course  of  in- 
struction ;  the  fall  of  Constantinople  sent  the  teachers 
of  Greek  philosophy  throughout  Europe;  and  the 
Renaissance,  glorified  by  the  poetr}^  of  Dante  and 
the  art  of  Michael  Angelo  and  Raphael,  brought  in 
the  Reformation  of  Luther,  a  synonym  for  education, 
in  which  appear  Melancthon  and  Erasmus  and  others 
— a  splendid  galaxy  of  names.  The  Roman  Catholic 
Church  responded  to  the  influences  of  the  Reforma- 
tion with  the  schools  of  the  Jesuits,  which  Pascal  de- 
clared, "taught  that  the  end  justifies  the  means." 
Within  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  the  brothers  of 
Port  Royal  made  a  splendid  attempt  to  purify  the 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  221 

faith  and  practice  of  the  church.  Fenelon  was  a 
type  of  their  teachers.  The  Burger  Schools  did  an 
important  work. 

Knox,  in  Scotland  tlirough  the  Kirk,  organized  a 
system  of  education  which  has  kept  Scotland  in  the 
front  to  this  day.  In  the  Netherlands,  all  the  people 
were  reading  the  Bible  in  the  vernacular  six  years 
before  Luther's  translation  was  completed  ;  Calvin,  in 
addition  to  working  out  his  great  system  of  doctrines, 
was  a  teacher,  and  organized  education  in  Geneva. 
So  far  as  his  doctrines  were  accepted,  the  churches 
favored  education.  For  four  centuries  before  the 
Westminster  Assembly,  the  Universities  of  Oxford 
and  Cambridge  admitted  to  their  privileges  all  Eng- 
lishmen save  Dissenters.  Every  appearance  of  the 
Bible  in  connection  with  instruction  was  a  sign  of 
human  purification  and  elevation.  Its  translation 
by  Wycliffe,  Coverdale,  and  Luther  began  to  pervade 
the  philosophies  accepted  in  the  schools,  and  the 
principles  of  conduct  in  common  life.  In  teaching 
its  doctrine  of  man  and  God,  martyrs  multiplied. 

Out  of  the  education  thus  afforded,  profoundly 
studying  the  struggle  of  man  with  the  evils  of  sin, 
the  members  of  the  Westminster  Assembly  came  to 
their  great  task,  and  were  enabled  to  set  aside  the 
false  ideas  and  practices — the  subterfuges  regarding 
man  and  the  superstitions  regarding  God — and  in  treat- 
ing these  great  fundamental  facts  came  back  from  all 
the  wanderings  of  human  deceit  and  speculation  to 


222  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

the  simplicity  of  the  truth,  and  solemnly  declared, 
"  The  Word  of  God,  which  is  contained  in  the  Scrip- 
tures of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  is  the  only 
rule  to  direct  us  how  we  may  glorify  and  enjoy  Him." 
From  these  Scriptures  they  are  enabled  to  affirm  that 
"Man's  chief  end  is  to  glorify  God,  and  to  enjoy 
Him  forever;  "  thus  in  the  simplest  terms  to  embody 
this  great  truth  which  no  human  philosophy  has 
been  able  to  invalidate  in  its  study  of  man's  destiny. 
All  worship  but  that  of  the  one  living  and  true  God 
is  swept  away.  Man's  triumphant  attainment  in 
righteousness  is  not  found  in  any  self-perfectability, 
as  announced  by  Rousseau  ;  but  "  Effectual  calling  is 
the  work  of  God's  Spirit ;  whereby,  convincing  us  of 
our  sin  and  misery,  enlightening  our  minds  in  the 
knowledge  of  Christ,  and  renewing  our  wills.  He 
doth  persuade  and  enable  us  to  embrace  Jesus  Christ, 
freely  offered  to  us  in  the  Gospel."  The  door  is 
opened  to  infinite  possibilities ;  man's  fear  of  a  way 
closed  by  sin  and  of  his  own  failure  of  accomplish- 
ment are  both  overcome ;  he  is  taught  by  the  Spirit 
and  led  by  it  to  the  use  of  his  powers  for  new  and 
holy  ends;  nothing  which  he  can  do  for  himself  is 
done  for  him.  We  can  see  how  these  doctrines  in 
their  application  to  all  human  activities  include  what 
is  described  by  the  term  "  education,"  and  where  in 
the  exercise  of  human  responsibility  there  is  room 
for  differences  of  opinion. 

We  should  never  forget  that  the  Westminster  As- 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  223 

sembly  did  its  work  during  four  years  of  the  troubled 
period  of  the  Long  Parliament ;  royalty  going  to  the 
gallows  and  manhood  coming  to  sovereignty.  Should 
we  look  in  upon  the  Assembly,  we  should  recognize 
the  influence  of  the  Presbyterian  demand  for  a 
learned  and  godly  ministry,  and  that  the  form  of 
Presbyterian  Church  government  had  favored  their 
selection  in  the  preparation  of  so  many  of  its  mem- 
bers for  their  duties.  Perchance,  we  look  in  when 
the  Committee  on  the  Catechism  reported  to  the 
Committee  of  the  Whole  that  they  failed  to  agree 
upon  a  satisfactory  answer  to  the  question — "  What  is 
God  ?  "  and  Gillespie,  the  youngest  member,  is  called 
upon  to  lead  in  prayer  for  the  special  aid  of  the  Di- 
vine Spirit,  and  when  he  began  with  the  words,  "  0 
God,  who  art  a  Spirit,  infinite,  eternal  and  unchange- 
able in  thy  being,  wisdom,  power,  holiness,  justice, 
goodness,  and  truth,"  the  body  already  began  to  feel 
that  the  desired  answer  was  sent.  We  should  be 
convinced  that  the  great  Assembly  had  been  taught 
in  the  Scriptures  and  had  learned  the  doctrine  of 
prayer,  and  enjo3'^ed  the  spiritual  benefit  of  its  con- 
stant observance.  Thus  they  were  enabled  to  em- 
body in  human  expression  this  Bible  view  of  the 
processes  of  salvation — pre-eminently  educational. 
Shortl}^  the  reaction  began  in  England,  and  Presby- 
terians to  the  number  of  one  hundred  and  forty  were 
expelled  from  Parliament,  and  England  waited  two 
centuries  for  her  great  educational  revival. 


224  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

Comenius,  the  great  Moravian  Bishop,  lifted  up  a 
marvellous  light,  which  for  a  time  illumined  the 
principles  and  methods  of  education  which  he  would 
adapt  to  the  several  periods  of  man's  growth.  He 
would  use  the  object  or  the  picture  in  connection 
with  the  word,  and  thus  lead  the  thought  through 
the  senses  up  to  abstract  reasoning ;  he  would  educate 
every  boy  and  girl  and  thus  prepare  for  a  Church 
united  and  universal,  and  for  nations  fit  for  respon- 
sibility in  secular  affairs;  he  Avould  have  brought 
education  back  to  biblical  methods ;  he  would  have 
the  mother  school  in  every  family  for  every  child 
until  six,  urged  prayer  for  it  before  it  was  born,  and 
rebuked  any  slight  of  it  by  its  mother.  Neither  the 
farming-out  of  infancy  nor  the  making  of  an  exhi- 
bition of  it  for  the  gratification  of  parental  pride  or 
the  admiration  of  friends  found  any  favor  with  him ; 
he  emphasized  the  idea  that  the  Bible  not  only  gives 
the  right  view  of  the  child  but  of  the  family  in 
which  it  is  placed,  and  enforced  its  integrity  and 
purity.  Could  his  scheme  have  been  adopted  by 
England,  as  desired  by  Milton  and  Hartlib,  or  had 
he  come  to  our  own  Harvard,  as  suggested,  and  car- 
ried out  his  plans,  we  should  to-day  have  been  im- 
measurably in  advance  of  where  we  are;  but, unfortu- 
nately, he  was  soon  forgotten,  and  the  old,  unnatural, 
abstract  methods  for  elementary  instruction  remained, 
and  generations  have  suffered  from  the  consequences. 

We  must  remember  that  other  denominations  so  far 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  225 

as  they  accept  the  Calvinistic  action  of  the  West- 
minster Assembly  share  with  Presbyterian  Churches 
the  results  of  its  influences  on  education. 

In  the  movement  of  Presbyterians  from  the  old  to 
the  new  world,  they  brought  with  them  not  only 
their  notion  of  Christian  doctrine,  but  also  the  prin- 
ciples and  customs  of  education  which  prevailed  in 
the  country  from  which  they  came.  There  was 
among  them  a  general  admission  of  the  importance 
of  child  training  and  that  parents  had  special  obliga- 
tions in  this  regard.  We  cannot  pause  to  trace  their 
diversities.  We  may  say  there  was  a  great  agree- 
ment that  the  offer  of  salvation  should  be  extended 
to  every  one,  and  therefore  there  should  be  provided 
for  each  so  much  of  instruction  as  would  enable  him 
to  avail  himself  of  the  means  of  salvation.  We  first 
find  the  term  "  free  school "  in  the  action  of  the  East 
India  Company  in  the  early  days  of  the  Jamestown 
settlement.  But  Virginia  waited  until  our  own  day 
for  the  establishment  of  free  universal  education  after 
the  plan  that  Jefferson  announced  a  century  before 
its  realization.  In  no  colony  did  Presbyterians  so 
prevail  as  to  enforce  their  special  ideas  of  education. 

Mather  declared  that  of  the  immigrants  arriving 
in  New  England  up  to  three  years  before  the  West- 
minster Assembly,  about  one-fifth  were  Presbyterians. 
Wherever  they  settled,  the  schoolhouse  was  opened 
beside  the  church — so  much  the  boast  in  American 
history.     The  learned  and  devout  clergy  shared  in 

15 


226  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

every  hardship  and  braved  every  peril  of  the  wilder- 
ness and  savage.  Their  sermons  stimulated  the  study 
of  the  Bible,  led  the  reflections  of  the  sturdy  men  and 
women — of  the  women  as  they  cared  for  their  homes, 
and  the  men  as  they  hewed  down  the  forest  and  stood 
guard  against  the  savage,  and  thus  they  awakened 
the  thought,  formed  the  minds,  and  built  the  charac- 
ters of  those  wlio  initiated,  defined,  defended,  and  con- 
firmed our  liberties. 

The  course  of  events  in  America,  to  which  the  utter- 
ances of  the  Westminster  Assembly  have  constantly 
contributed  through  the  Puritan  and  Covenanter,  has 
resulted  so  that  the  form  of  organization  and  direc- 
tion of  education  are  divided  in  the  main  between 
the  Church  and  the  State;  first,  the  church  or  churches 
charged  with  the  preservation  of  the  oracles  of  God 
acknowledge  the  duty  of  training  man  therein  as  the 
means  of  saving  his  soul ;  second,  the  State  for  its  own 
preservation  assumes  the  responsibility  of  preparing 
man  to  discharge  his  duty  as  a  citizen  or  as  an  officer 
when  called  to  rule  over  his  fellows.  Thus  the  coun- 
try receives  whatever  advantage  may  arise  from  their 
competition  in  excellence  or  public  favor.  Compar- 
ing their  buildings  and  equipment,  their  text-books 
and  teachers,  their  methods  of  instruction  and  discip- 
line, we  find  those  of  Church  and  State  much  the 
same. 

The  story  of  the  efforts  of  Presbyterian  Churches 
in  America  to  found  institutions  of  learning  would 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  227 

furnish  a  romantic  chapter  in  educational  history. 
Rev.  William  Tennent,  a  man  of  learning  and  devout 
piety,  in  1726,  in  Bucks  County,  Pennsylvania,  twenty 
miles  north  of  Philadelphia,  opened  a  school  for  the 
better  training  of  young  men  for  the  ministry.  Rev. 
George  Whitfield,  the  distinguished  evangelist,  who 
shared  with  Tennent  the  desire  to  elevate  the  charac- 
ter of  the  clergy  and  increase  the  spirituality  of  the 
churches,  said  after  a  visit,  "The  place  where  the 
young  men  study  is  called  in  contempt  a  '  Log  Col- 
lege.' "  "  It  was  about  twenty  feet  long  and  near  as 
many  broad."  "  The  logs  were  hewn  for  it  on  the 
spot."  From  this  humble  beginning  what  vast 
consequences  followed  to  Presbyterian  education  ? 
Thence  came  Princeton,  preparing  its  great  array 
of  officers  for  the  churches  and  for  civil  duties.  In 
spite  of  the  limitations  and  distresses  of  poverty,  the 
hardsliips  of  pioneer  life,  multiplied  by  the  threaten- 
ing savagery  of  the  Indian,  the  graduates  of  Princeton 
went  out  to  found  other  like  institutions  in  the  wil- 
derness. Smith  to  establish  Prince  Edward  Academy, 
which  in  the  year  of  American  Independence  became 
Hampden-Sidney  College,  named  in  honor  of  those 
defenders  of  liberty;  Graham  laid  the  foundations 
of  Liberty  Hall.  The  State  of  Virginia  voted  George 
AVashington  one  hundred  improvement  bonds  as  a 
token  of  its  gratitude  for  his  eminent  services.  These 
bonds  he  refused  to  appropriate  to  his  own  use  and 
donated  them  to  Liberty  Hall,  which  thereupon  en- 


228  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

tered  upon  its  enlarged  sphere  as  Washington  Col- 
lege, now  Washington  and  Lee  University.  The 
efforts  of  McMillan  in  Western  Pennsylvania  resulted 
in  Jefferson  College.  Doak,  a  native  of  Virginia, 
with  his  Princeton  diploma,  carrying  the  books  for 
his  library  on  horseback  across  the  mountains,  settled 
on  the  Holston  before  that  territory  was  transferred 
from  North  Carolina  and  constituted  a  part  of  Ten- 
nessee, and  there  established  Washington  College, 
which  contends  with  Transylvania  for  recognition  as 
the  first  college  opened  in  the  Mississippi  Valley. 
The  sturdy  Scotch-Irish  of  North  Carolina  are  speci- 
ally honored  for  the  defense  of  their  homes  in  the 
Revolutionary  struggle  and  for  the  Mecklenburg  De- 
claration ;  for  most  of  their  preparation  they  were 
indebted  to  a  learned  and  devout  ministry  who  in- 
structed them  in  their  homes  or  in  various  academies 
established  by  their  self-sacrificing  efforts. 

Presbyterian  ministers  shared  with  Puritans  in 
New  England  in  administering  the  public  school 
system.  They  did  their  share  in  founding  academies 
and  in  establishing  the  early  colleges — Yale,  Har- 
vard, Brown,  Princeton,  Dartmouth,  and  others,  and 
the  churches  and  presbyteries  sustained  them  in  their 
efforts.  The  insertion  in  the  Ordinance  of  1787  of 
the  clause  enforcing  the  duty  of  education  and  pro- 
viding the  means  for  it  in  the  gift  of  the  sixteenth 
section  of  land  for  common  schools  and  two  town- 
ships for  universities,  is  credited  to  Manasseh  Cutler, 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  229 

another  Calvinistic  clergyman.  Rev.  Samuel  Wood, 
of  Boscawen,  New  Hampshire,  in  addition  to  his  in- 
structive labors  in  the  pulpit,  fitted  eighty  young 
men  for  college,  including  Daniel  and  Ezekiel  Web- 
ster, besides  teaching  many  students  in  theology. 
What  these  learned  and  devout  ministers  did  for 
education  up  to  the  inauguration  of  our  Constitu- 
tional Government,  their  successors  in  the  genera- 
tions following  have  done  for  the  vast  regions  west, 
the  Mississippi  Valley,  the  Rocky  Mountain  Regions, 
and  the  Pacific  Slope.  They  have  been  pre-eminently 
the  leaders  holding  aloft  the  Stars  and  Stripes  and 
the  Banner  of  the  Cross,  planting  the  church  and  the 
school.  Dr.  Whitman,  a  Presbyterian,  in  honor  of 
whose  memory  a  college  is  now  erected,  by  his  peril- 
ous ride  in  midwinter  across  the  mountains,  and 
plains,  and  frozen  rivers,  through  the  deep  snows 
and  the  blinding  storms,  and  by  leading  in  return  a 
train  of  immigrants,  saved  to  our  flag  an  empire  on 
the  Pacific.  Nor  has  the  chapter  of  these  great  heroes 
ended.  Our  own  generation  is  blest  with  a  mission- 
ary who  in  the  variety  and  vastness  of  his  labors  and 
in  their  influence  upon  education  surpasses  them  all, 
and  our  Church  has  properly  manifested  its  apprecia- 
tion of  this  fact  b}'  his  elevation  to  the  most  honor- 
able office  in  its  gift. 

AVe  must  not  overlook  the  educating  influence  of 
the  Church  itself  upon  its  own  members.  A  careful 
statement  indicates  that  Americans  have  so  improved 


230  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

their  liberty  of  worship  that  there  are  among  us  fifty 
sects,  and  a  looser  authority  counts  a  hundred. 

This  is  the  day  of  new  organizations,  clubs,  and 
societies  almost  beyond  number,  with  all  sorts  of  ob- 
jects and  of  every  name,  for  men,  women,  and  chil- 
dren. But  man  has  never  devised  any  organization 
equal  to  the  Church  in  its  educating  and  uplifting 
power.  This  is  the  form  selected  by  our  Lord  for  his 
followers,  through  which  they  were  to  disciple  the 
world ;  in  their  great  differences  of  doctrine  and 
form  of  worship,  there  will  be  found  corresponding 
differences  in  educating  power.  There  are  still  those 
who  would  cling  to  the  union  of  Church  and  State ; 
those  who  affirm  that  ignorance  is  the  mother  of  de- 
votion ;  that  the  Bible  is  not  for  common  believers ; 
that  education  is  for  the  few ;  that  the  sermon  should 
count  for  little ;  and  others  that  the  preacher  should 
lift  up  his  voice  without  preparation  and  speak  as  he 
is  moved  ;  others  would  prescribe  forms  to  be  followed 
so  exactly  that  tliey  may  all  be  gone  through  with- 
out either  interest  or  heart  on  the  part  of  hearer  or 
preacher.  The  adherents  of  each  will  claim  superi- 
ority for  their  own ;  we  would  disparage  none. 

Presbyterians  by  universal  consent  stand  for  intel- 
ligence. This  standing  has  been  the  occasion  for 
criticism,  but  we  notice  as  time  goes  on  objection 
gives  way  to  approval.  Presb3^terians  believe  that 
not  only  their  doctrine  but  their  form  of  worship  and 
polity  find  authority  in  the  primitive  church.     Pres- 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  231 

byterians  always  encourage  the  reverent  use  of  reason, 
not  its  diseased,  unbalanced,  or  insane  use,  destructive 
of  reason  itself,  any  more  than  they  encourage  that 
misuse  of  tlie  body  which  brings  disease  and  death. 
They  invite  to  membership  all  believers  who  accept 
Christ  as  their  Saviour,  and  are  ready  to  be  baptized 
in  his  name,  and  to  conform  their  lives  to  his  pre- 
cepts. They  hold  to  the  perseverance  of  all  true  be- 
lievers and  make  no  provision  in  their  theories  for 
lapses  in  practice.  They  contemplate  no  giving  of 
youth  to  the  sowing  of  wild  oats.  Parents  indicate 
their  acceptance  of  the  old  and  new  covenant  by 
bringing  their  children  to  baptism,  thus  consecrating 
them  in  infancy  and  promising  to  train  them  for  the 
service  of  the  Lord,  in  which  all  their  brethren  agree 
to  join,  confirming  their  promise  by  public  sign. 
Shortcomings  in  these  covenanted  duties  are  most 
disastrous.  Here  may  be  found  the  greatest  defects  in 
the  education  jn-actised  by  the  Presbyterian  Churches. 
The  Church  thus  constituted,  what  association  for 
the  sake  of  companionship  can  equal  it?  Or  for  re- 
form of  any  condition  of  evil,  intemperance,  impurity, 
dishonesty  in  fulfilling  private  or  public  trusts,  what 
can  invoke  stronger  motives?  Is  any  improvement 
proposed,  intellectual,  moral,  social,  civil,  or  spiritual, 
what  combination  is  like  it  in  fitness  or  effectiveness? 
What  observances  could  be  better  adapted  to  promote 
perpetuity  of  ideas  and  activity  than  its  sacraments, 
its  seasons  of  prayer,  and  its  Sabbaths  set  apart  from 


232  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

secular  pursuits  to  worship  and  rest,  to  instruction, 
and  study  of  the  Bible  and  Catechism  in  the  Sabbath- 
school  and  at  home?  What  human  combination 
has  in  view  such  an  end,  perfection  in  holiness,  sal- 
vation from  sin,  the  glories  of  immortality  ?  Or  where 
is  any  other  association  accorded  such  a  leader,  one 
who  has  left  behind  the  example  of  a  perfect  life, 
who  has  overcome  death  and  the  grave  and  ascended 
on  high,  and  who  invites  all  his  followers  to  share 
with  him  the  beatitudes  of  his  glory  ?  To  make  all 
this  effective,  there  is  the  under-shepherd  required 
by  Presbyterians  to  be  learned  and  godly,  ready  to 
lead,  to  warn  and  exhort,  with  all  humility,  patience, 
and  tenderness.  The  Presbyterian  Church  with  its 
learned  and  godly  ministry  is  the  school  of  schools 
for  all  its  members  in  all  their  duties.  By  it  the 
family  is  set  apart  and  its  members  instructed ; 
wisdom  in  entering  upon  its  obligations  and  loving 
fidelity  in  their  discharge,  enforced  that  it  may  not 
so  often  end  in  divorce ;  divine  precepts  brought  to 
bear  upon  the  duty  of  each  member ;  the  father  and 
mother,  the  very  priest  and  priestess,  daily  worship- 
ping at  the  altar  of  the  home  church  ;  and  all  parents 
and  children  under  the  instruction  of  the  Church 
vieing  with  each  other  in  the  beauty  and  loving- 
fidelity  of  their  lives — what  a  protection  and  inspira- 
tion is  thus  thrown  around  the  family  circle,  making 
the  devout  home  the  very  threshold  of  heaven ! 
In  the  Church,  too,  every  member,  every  worshipper 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  233 

is  instructed  in  his  civil  duties  ;  he  hears  the  voice 
of  the  divine  oracles ;  the  moral  law  is  laid  upon  his 
conscience ;  his  patriotism  is  lighted  by  a  divine 
flame,  and  he  is  stimulated  to  that  eternal  vigilance 
which  is  the  price  of  liberty.  The  equality  of  church 
membership  prepares  him  for  the  equality  of  citizen- 
ship, and  the  practice  of  the  principle  of  representa- 
tion in  Session,  Presbytery,  and  Synod  in  spiritual 
affairs  prepares  for  its  application  in  affairs  of  the 
State.  If  he  is  called  to  rule,  he  should,  like  all  be- 
lievers, rule  in  the  fear  of  God.  All  Presbyterian 
church  officers,  including  the  pastor,  are  called  by 
the  voice  of  the  people;  the  parity  of  the  clergy  is 
fixed ;  the  descent  of  authority  by  the  laying  on  of 
hands  comes  not  by  the  bishop,  who  assumes  author- 
ity over  his  brethren  of  the  clerg}',  but  through  the 
chosen  member  of  the  Presbytery. 

In  founding  institutions  of  their  own,  academies, 
colleges,  and  seminaries,  the  most  Presbyterians  seek 
formally  of  the  State  is  the  charter  necessary  for 
security;  and  this  they  ask  not  formally  to  churches 
but  to  individuals  who  are  their  members.  Turning 
from  the  Log  College,  what  a  triumphant  result  is 
presented ! 

The  Commissioner  of  Education,  Dr.  W.  T,  Harris, 
reports  now  sustained  by  Presbyterian  Churches,  in- 
cluding the  Cumberland  and  the  Northern  and 
Southern  Divisions,  102  academies  attended  by  4922 
students,   or   2523   males   and    2399   females ;   with 


234  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

60,206  volumes  in  their  libraries ;  and  grounds  and 
buildings  valued  at  $1,804,500,  with  an  annual  in- 
come of  $305,110;  with  54  colleges  for  men,  or  for 
men  and  women,  with  an  attendance  in  the  prepara- 
tory departments  of  3815,  or  males  2360  and  females 
1455 ;  in  their  college  classes,  4145,  or  males  3255 
and  females  890 ;  or  a  total  in  these  institutions  en- 
joying preparatory  and  college  instruction  of  7760, 
of  whom  5615  are  men  and  2345  are  women,  with 
312,481  volumes  in  their  libraries,  and  grounds  and 
buildings  valued  at  $5,779,816,  and  controlling  pro- 
ductive funds  to  the  amount  of  $5,133,295,  and  hav- 
ing an  annual  income  of  $469,766.  Of  colleges  for 
women  alone  there  are  25,  with  an  attendance  of  300 
in  the  elementary  departments,  of  846  in  the  prepara- 
tory, and  1618  in  the  college  classes ;  or  a  total  at- 
tendance of  3047,  with  42,184  volumes  in  their  libra- 
ries ;  and  grounds  and  buildings  valued  at  $1,596,075, 
with  an  annual  income  of  $337,210.  These  three 
divisions  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  maintain  twenty 
theological  seminaries,  with  1341  young  men  in  at- 
tendance, and  293,738  volumes  in  their  libraries,  and 
having  grounds  and  buildings  valued  at  $2,755,527, 
and  productive  funds  amounting  to  $6,626,425.  Here 
is  a  grand  total  of  17,070  students  in  attendance ; 
708,609  volumes  in  libraries;  $11,995,918  in  build- 
ings and  grounds;  $11,759,620  in  productive  funds, 
and  having  an  annual  income  in  colleges  and  acad- 
emies of  $1,112,081. 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  235 

Our  congratulations  on  this  occasion  may  not  be 
the  less  helpful  if  sometimes  admonitory.  Grateful 
and  encouraged  as  we  should  be  as  we  compare  the 
above  educational  work  of  Presbyterian  Churches 
with  the  beginning  at  the  Log  College,  we  shall  be 
compelled  in  view  of  the  large  wealth  controlled  by 
Presbyterians  and  the  large  share  that  they  must 
have  given  of  the  $198,044,141,  reported  by  the  Bu- 
reau of  Education,  bestowed  upon  education  since 
1870,  to  conclude  that  a  great  part  of  their  gifts  has 
been  bestowed  upon  other  institutions  than  those 
directed  by  Presbyterian  agencies,  and  that  they 
have  not  given  to  their  own  institutions  as  they  have 
in  other  directions. 

There  can  be  no  question  of  the  obligation  of  Pres- 
byterian Churches  to  maintain  the  purity  and  effici- 
ency of  the  instruction  under  their  own  control.  We 
have  seen  how  free  from  technical  and  formal  restric- 
tions is  the  admission  to  Presbyterian  membership. 
But  in  considering  the  relation  of  Presbj'terian 
Churches  to  education,  we  should  not  fail  to  observe 
the  care  with  which  they  call  the  teacher  or  preacher. 
His  personal  piety,  attainments,  and  beliefs  must 
pass  the  scrutiny  of  his  Session  and  be  approved  by 
the  Presbytery.  Wlien  commissioned,  he  is  duly 
authorized  to  teach  Presbyterian  doctrines,  and  he  is 
held  by  every  obligation  to  preach  no  other.  In  as- 
suming the  responsibility  of  his  commission,  the 
churches  allow  the  largest  liberty  of  inquir}',  but  in 


236  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

accordance  with  principles  most  common  in  all  the 
affairs  of  men,  either  religious  or  secular,  they  hold 
the  teacher  or  preacher  responsible  to  the  obligations 
which  he  has  assumed.  If  he  reaches  views  essen- 
tially contrary  to  Presbyterian  doctrine,  he  may  have 
the  largest  liberty  in  declaring  them  when  he  is  no 
longer  under  their  commission  and  pay.  A  man  of 
the  common  sense  of  honor,  honesty,  and  fidelity 
could  hardly  propose  for  himself  a  different  course. 
Agnostics  may  sneer  at  the  application  of  this  princi- 
ple as  narrow,  but  would  they  commission  and  pay 
persons  to  preach  Presbyterianism  ?  Can  an  officer 
commissioned  in  the  service  of  his  country  fight  un- 
der a  hostile  banner  without  committing  treason  ? 
Persons  should  not  assume  to  be  religious  teachers 
who  have  no  experience  of  religious  faith.  Too  often 
Americans  have  been  beguiled  into  error  under  Ger- 
man instruction,  and  on  account  of  their  opportuni- 
ties for  intellectual  culture  have  been  accepted  as 
worthy  teachers  in  American  institutions.  It  is  due 
to  those  who  give  money  for  Presbyterian  purposes 
and  those  who  seek  Presbyterian  instruction  that 
they  should  not  be  deceived.  Sometimes  there  is  a 
sentiment  which  would  be  satisfied  with  good  charac- 
ter without  intellectual  attainments,  with  the  goody- 
good  as  teacher  or  minister.  In  other  cases,  in  this 
day  of  special  care  of  methods  and  professional  skill, 
the  mistake  is  made  of  requiring  no  preparation  in 
method.    It  may  be  well  demanded  that  the  religious 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  237 

teacher  should  excel  not  only  in  character  and  scholar- 
ship, but  in  mastery  of  methods.  He  has  before  him 
the  example  of  the  great  teacher  whose  method  was 
never  equalled  by  Socrates  or  any  other  man.  Pres- 
byterians may  well  be  cautious  how  they  treat  the 
Bible  in  all  their  instruction ;  frivolous  questions 
about  it  should  be  dismissed :  neither  should  it  be 
regarded  with  superstition.  The  superiority  of  its 
antiquity,  piety,  and  moral  sentiments  may  well  be 
appreciated ;  and,  above  all,  it  should  be  accepted  as 
the  Word  of  God,  as  the  finality  in  teaching  the 
nature  of  God  and  man  and  their  relations.  Studies 
about  the  Bible  may  be  useful,  but  they  should  not 
take  the  place  of  the  study  of  the  Bible  itself.  It 
must  be  admitted  there  has  been  here  and  there  a 
singular  growth  of  indifference  to  Bible  instruction 
in  our  higher  institutions  of  learning.  In  the  relig- 
ious college  and  academy  it  has  been  too  often  treated 
in  a  manner  to  deprive  its  study  of  all  interest  and 
enthusiasm.  Indeed,  the  president  of  a  college  con- 
nected with  another  religious  body  when  asked  if  the 
Bible  was  used  in  his  course,  replied,  "  No,"  and  that 
he  hoped  that  it  never  would  be.  Time  was  when  it 
was  carefully  studied  in  all  higher  institutions  such 
as  Harvard  and  Princeton. 

The  Southern  branch  of  our  Church  has  excelled 
in  its  restoration  to  college  use,  and  finds  the  Bible 
part  of  the  course  of  greatest  interest  among  students. 
The  motives  to  excellence  in  our  religious  institutions 


238  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

are  sometimes  thrown  out  of  balance  by  a  system  of 
merit,  which  recognizes  only  brightness  in  scholar- 
ship and  leaves  out  all  account  of  fidelity  and  charac- 
ter. Our  theological  seminaries,  while  giving  special 
attention  to  the  study  of  the  Hebrew  and  Greek,  have 
too  mych  neglected  the  English  Bible.  In  this  form 
of  the  Word,  the  minister  will  be  called  upon  speci- 
ally to  wield  the  Sword  of  the  Spirit.  Too  often  the 
student  coming  through  all  the  course  of  our  religious 
training  finds  himself  most  imperfectly  grounded  in 
the  relation  of  fundamental  truths  to  the  administra- 
tion of  civil  affairs  or  to  the  current  practical  ques- 
tions of  the  day. 

Historians  have  not  ceased  to  describe  the  educat- 
ing power  of  Presbyterian  doctrine  and  forms  of 
worship  in  shaping  the  institutions  of  our  country. 
For  the  American  Presbyterian,  education  should  be 
as  universal  as  the  responsibilities  of  citiz^enship. 
Therefore,  having  fixed  the  separation  of  Church  and 
State,  the  universal  and  advanced  education  required 
to  guarantee  the  intelligence  necessar}' to  a  free  State, 
both  by  religious  and  civil  considerations,  is  intrusted 
to  the  State.  Here,  too,  the  Bible  should  be  the  test 
of  any  scheme  of  instruction. 

The  formal  action  of  the  State  in  education  in 
ancient  history  appears  only  here  and  there;  and 
then  in  the  main  for  special  purposes  or  for  limited 
classes,  as  is  illustrated  in  the  instruction  of  which 
we  catch  glimpses  in  Assj^ria  and  Egypt,  Greece  and 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  239 

Rome.  Later  this  power  and  duty  only  dawned  here 
and  there  upon  a  royal  mind,  as  upon  that  of  Alfred, 
or  Charlemagne,  or  Frederick,  who  found  he  could 
make  his  people  more  powerful  in  array  against  his 
enemies  by  training  officers,  and  caught  the  idea 
that  by  training  teachers  he  could  multiply  the 
effectiveness  of  his  citizens,  and  so  established  nor- 
mal schools.  Luther  declared  that  it  was  as  much 
the  duty  of  the  magistrate  to  establish  schools  for  the 
instruction  of  youth  as  to  build  bridges  and  make 
roads.  The  undertaking  of  these  duties  by  the  State 
justifies  itself  to  reason,  and  more  than  any  other 
cause  has  in  recent  time  given  great  impulse  to  edu- 
cational progress.  If  the  State  for  self-protection  must 
levy  taxes  and  exert  its  power  to  preserve  order  and 
punish  murder,  it  can  with  equal  right  levy  taxes 
and  educate  its  people  for  the  prevention  of  crime. 
There  follows  logically  the  duty  of  applying  the  best 
principles  and  methods,  guarding  the  qualification 
of  teachers,  supplying  equipments,  and  conducting 
supervision.  Our  public  school  system  originated 
in  Puritan  New  England,  where  school  and  church, 
and  State  and  church  were  so  long  one.  Before  they 
were  separated,  schools  were  established  by  civil  au- 
thoritv  including  everv  child,  so  that  each  one  might 
be  able  to  read  so  much  of  the  statute  as  to  be  de- 
terred from  its  violation,  and  so  much  of  the  Scrip- 
ture as  to  be  enabled  to  resist  Satan.  In  different" 
States,  the  system  of  public  instruction  has  come  to 


240  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

embrace  all  grades  from  the  kindergarten  to  the 
university.  The  relation  of  Presbyterian  Churches 
to  education  by  the  State  is  not  formal,  but  like  their 
relation  to  civil  affairs  in  other  respects,  through  their 
members  sharing  in  its  direction  and  pa^dng  taxes  for 
its  support,  and  through  their  youth  who  enjoy  its 
privileges.  To  judge  how  much  this  may  be,  we 
may  gain  some  idea  by  reflecting  that  if  one  child 
in  a  family  is  normal,  he  may  have  free  all  education 
to  which  he  aspires,  even  to  that  in  the  university. 
Is  another  blind,  or  deaf,  or  feeble-minded,  the  State 
offers  the  needed  instruction  without  cost. 

How  many  Presbyterian  youth  attend  this  element- 
ary or  secondary  public  instruction  it  is  impossible 
to  estimate  with  accuracy. 

From  a  religious  census  of  the  State  universities 
and  of  the  Presbyterian  colleges,  edited  by  Francis 
W.  Kelsey,  Esq.,  we  have  the  significant  statement 
that  "  in  seventeen  State  universities  there  were  en- 
rolled 2434  Presbyterian  students,  against  2388,  the 
total  attendance  in  the  thirty-seven  colleges  under 
the  auspices  of  our  churches."  He  adds,  "  in  view  of 
present  tendencies  that  are  unmistakable,  is  it  not 
likely  that  in  twenty-five  years  the  majority  of  lay- 
men in  the  Presbyterian  Church  who  have  enjoyed 
the  advantages  of  higher  education,  laymen  who 
will  be  charged  with  the  administration  of  its  mater- 
ial interests   and  will   be   exerting  an  influence  in 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  241 

shaping  its  policy,  will  be  laymen  who  have  never 
entered  the  door  of  a  Presbyterian  college  ? " 

Here  is  a  responsibility  which  Presbyterian  Churches 
bear  to  education  that  must  be  met  without  delay. 
No  one  can  object  to  their  making  their  own  institu- 
tions more  effective,  or  to  their  carrying  to  success 
the  movement  already  commenced  of  furnishing  a 
Presbyterian  house  in  connection  with  each  State 
university,  where  Presbyterian  students  may  enjoy 
Presbyterian  association  and  worship,  and  instruction 
in  Presbyterian  doctrine  and  polity.  But  there  re- 
mains still  the  adjustment  of  religious  instruction 
to  the  entire  public  system  of  education.  No  edu- 
cational question  of  the  day  is  more  important. 
We  are  fully  assured  that  the  separation  of 
Church  and  State  is  to  the  advantage  of  each  and 
of  the  individual.  Presbyterians  have  no  question 
of  their  duty  to  each.  They  have  only  to  be  as- 
sured there  is  no  antagonism  and  to  think  out 
clearly  for  themselves  and  others  the  line  of  harmon- 
ious action.  There  is  a  sentiment  that  would  carry 
this  separation  to  the  extent  that  civil  administration 
must  be  not  only  non-sectarian,  but  positively  hostile 
to  religion.  This  sentiment  has  apparently  resulted 
in  the  declaration  of  a  clerg3'man  or  a  judge  here 
and  there,  who  has  been  ready  to  run  before  he  is 
called,  "  that  the  reading  of  the  Bible  must  be  ex- 
cluded from  public  instruction."  Is  it  clear  that  the 
best  book  is  the  first  book  to  be  excluded  from  public 

16 


242  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

schools?  that  the  book  most  helpful  to  American 
youth  is  the  one  they  are  forbidden  to  use?  the  book 
out  of  whose  influence  have  come  our  free  institu- 
tions and  their  defense,  the  book  whose  presence  or 
absence  has  marked  the  ebb  and  flow  in  education, 
the  rise  and  fall  of  nations?  No  Presbyterian  will 
ask  that  his  creed,  as  distinguished  from  others, 
shall  be  taught  by  the  public  instructor,  but  in  com- 
mon with  all  evangelical  believers  he  holds  that  the 
morals  of  the  American  State,  upon  which  it  depends 
for  order  and  peace,  are  in  substance  the  same  as  the 
morals  of  the  Bible.  On  all  hands  it  will  be  agreed 
that  nothing  is  more  essential  in  education  than 
moral  training.  The  body  may  be  strengthened  and 
the  intellect  sharpened  only  to  make  their  possessor 
a  deadly  foe  to  himself  and  to  his  fellows.  The 
power  of  moral  direction — the  right  choice— is  most 
important  to  be  cultivated.  Choices  right  in  effect 
will  be  made  by  different  persons  from  different 
motives.  In  man's  intercourse  with  his  fellow  they 
may  be  determined  by  conditions  under  the  control 
of  the  State,  or  they  may  be  controlled  by  a  desire  to 
obey  the  divine  command.  Two  persons  drawing 
their  motives  from  these  two  widely  different  consid- 
erations may  act  the  same  on  all  questions  affecting 
each  other's  lives  and  property ;  may  live  in  har- 
mony and  be  good  citizens ;  the  morals  of  each  traced 
to  their  source  will  be  found  to  come  from  the  Bible ; 
now  may  they  not  both  look  at  the  Bible  as  they  look 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  243 

at  life,  and  as  the}'-  disagree  as  to  the  religion  of  life 
and  agree  as  to  the  wisdom  and  necessity  of  its  mor- 
als, may  they  not  see  with  equal  clearness  tliat 
they  can  disagree  as  to  the  religion  of  the  Bible 
and  accept  its  morals,  and  for  the  purpose  of  its 
morals  unite  in  its  use  as  they  unite  in  the  uses 
of  life  ?  Much  in  this  question  depends  upon  the 
good  temper  of  all  concerned ;  the  qualification  of 
the  teacher  is  a  most  important  factor.  It  is  interest- 
ing to  know  that  there  has  been  made  a  book  of 
selections  from  the  Bible  satisfactory  to  the  committee, 
representing  the  Agnostic,  the  Jew,  the  Protestant, 
and  the  Catholic. 

The  relation  of  these  questions  to  provisions  of  the 
National  Constitution  is  most  intimate.  The  great 
sentiment  of  the  country  is  in  favor  of  the  separation 
of  ecclesiastical  from  civil  affairs.  But  of  this  separa- 
tion there  is  no  guarantee  in  the  National  Constitu- 
tion. Indeed,  the  only  provision  in  that  instrument 
in  regard  to  religion  is  that  Congress  shall  not  enact 
any  law  establishing  a  religion  or  exclude  a  person 
from  office  on  account  of  religious  belief,  and  recog- 
nizing the  Christian  Sabbath,  and  the  date  of  the 
year  of  our  Lord,  and  the  solemnity  of  oaths.  All 
powers  or  rights  not  specifically  granted  to  the  nation 
are  reserved  to  the  people  of  the  States.  It  is  in  the 
opinion  of  the  people  of  each  State,  therefore,  to  pro- 
vide enactments  of  their  own  choice  with  regard  to 
religion.     So  one  State  after  another  has  been  very 


244  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

exact  in  providing  in  its  Constitution  that  its  Legis- 
lature shall  not  appropriate  money  for  the  support 
of  religion  ;  but  there  is  nothing  in  the  National  Con- 
stitution to  prevent  any  State  from  reversing  its  pres- 
ent decision,  and  the  State  of  Utah  might  establish 
Mormonism  as  its  religion  and  turn  the  entire  ma- 
chinery of  public  instruction  to  the  education  of  its 
youth  in  Mormon  doctrines. 

What  a  rich  legacy  our  fathers  left  us  in  that 
structure  of  our  Government  which  assures  liberty 
of  conscience,  and  which  permits  the  supremacy 
neither  of  the  Church  over  the  State  nor  the  State 
over  the  Church.  But  with  this  great  inheritance 
we  have  something  to  do.  We  must  settle  aright  for 
ourselves  and  for  our  posterity  the  rekition  of  the 
Bible  to  education  under  the  direction  of  the  State. 
One  thing  we  can  do  without  question  from  any 
quarter,  and  that  is  make  Bible  instruction  in  col- 
leges under  religious  control  so  superior  in  interest 
and  results  that  all  will  want  the  Bible  in  their 
courses  of  study. 

Presbyterian  Churches  acknowledge  other  respon- 
sibilities to  education  beyond  what  may  be  accom- 
plished by  their  doctrines  and  their  forms  of  worship 
within  themselves.  For  the  purpose  of  aiding  feeble 
churches  and  carrying  the  Gospel  to  those  not  reached 
by  it  in  our  own  and  other  lands,  this  our  body,  or 
division,  has  organized  eight  Boards,  each  educative 
or  promotive  of  education  in  its  special  way.     I  wish 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  245 

we  might  focus  their  educative  power  and  bring  it  to 
bear  on  our  hearts.  If  it  is  true  that  only  one-seventh 
of  our  churches  contribute  to  the  work  of  all  the 
Boards,  what  a  privilege,  what  a  means  of  grace  the 
other  six-sevenths  of  our  churches  fail  to  improve ! 

Is  a  worshipper  ever  annoyed  by  his  pastor's  an- 
nouncing the  day  for  receiving  gifts  to  this  or  that 
Board  of  the  Church,  let  him  reflect  that  this  is  no 
begging,  that  this  is  an  offer  of  an  opportunity  for 
using  with  greater  effect  his  influence  and  means 
which  he  has  consecrated  to  the  Master.  Neither  one 
member  nor  one  church  can  take  into  view  all  con- 
ditions or  demands  for  Christian  effort ;  but  by  asso- 
ciation this  may  be  accomplished.  In  the  operations 
of  tlicse  Boards,  every  church  member  may  have  a 
voice,  as  he  has  in  his  Session,  Presbytery,  Synod, 
and  the  Assembly ;  they  make  present  this  oppor- 
tunity for  the  gifts,  prayers,  and  personal  influence 
of  every  worshipper.  The  men  who  administer  these 
Boards  are  carefully  selected  for  their  ability,  piety, 
trustworthiness  and  special  fitness,  and  their  opera- 
tions are  brought  before  all  Presbyteries  and  Synods 
and  carefully  revised  annually  by  the  General  As- 
sembly. In  connection  with  these  Boards,  woman 
finds  her  appropriate  sphere  and  fills  it  with  an  effici- 
ency sealed  with  divine  approval  and  lias  added 
mightily  to  the  educative  work  of  the  churches. 
Each  Board  will  appear  before  Assembly  with  its 
own  full  report ;  but  we  cannot  appreciate  the  pres- 


246  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

ent  relation  of  this,  our  body,  of  Presbyterian  Churches 
to  education  and  leave  out  all  allusion  to  them  here. 
Once  Presbyterians  may  have  suffered  like  other  de- 
nominations from  the  theory  that  missions  only  re- 
quired preaching — the  mistaken  theory  under  which 
a  great  missionary  secretary  closed  so  many  mission 
schools ;  but  that  day,  thank  God,  has  passed.  It  is 
not  now  doubted  that  teaching  and  training  in  the 
life  of  Christ  is  an  essential  part  of  the  preaching  of 
the  Gospel.  Our  two  great  'organizations,  the  Home 
and  the  Foreign  Boards,  divide  the  world  between 
them.  As  the  Home  Board  adds  churches  to  its 
forces,  each  should  become  a  systematic  contributor 
to  all  the  Boards,  and  as  the  Home  Board  lifts  up  the 
cry,  "  Our  country  for  Christ,"  the  Foreign  Board 
takes  up  the  refrain,  "  Christ  for  the  world." 

If  American  liberties  are  to  be  destroyed  or  Amer- 
ican Presbyterianism  corrupted,  it  is  to  be  done 
through  the  education  of  the  young.  In  the  future, 
as  in  the  past,  destruction  may  come  by  man's  as- 
suming some  unwarranted  power  over  his  fellow  as 
a  divine  right ;  it  may  be  the  divine  right  of  wealth, 
or  station,  or  labor,  or  some  power  devised  for  man's 
gratification.  In  the  absence  of  the  law,  God's  chosen 
people  came  nearest  to  destruction.  Every  nation 
has  found  its  greatest  peril  in  the  greatest  absence  of 
the  Divine  Word.  Our  safety  is  the  presence  of  its 
truths  wrought  by  education  into  the  hearts  and 
illustrated  in  the  lives  of  the  American  people.     The 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  247 

Bible  is  the  only  safe  guide  for  training  in  the  right- 
eousness which  exalteth  a  nation.  What  more  sig- 
nificant sign  of  our  peril  and  of  the  need  of  the  Bible 
to  enlighten  the  individual  understanding  than  the 
declaration  of  a  man  dignified  by  a  seat  in  the  United 
States  Senate  to  the  effect  that  the  Ten  Command- 
ments have  no  place  in  American  politics? 

As  a  nation  we  are  esi^ecially  charged  with  the 
responsibility  of  elevating  degraded  races,  the  African 
and  the  aborigine,  and  of  receiving  to  our  great 
privileges  those  not  so  highly  favored. 

Is  Hawaii,  after  being  brought  up  from  the  degra- 
dation of  paganism  to  the  position  of  Christian  civili- 
zation by  the  labors  and  sacrifices  of  American  mis- 
sionaries, now  to  become  a  part  of  our  domain — are 
the  prophecies  of  this  critical  year  to  bring  to  us  civil 
responsibilities  for  other  people  ?  Let  us  remember 
we  can  have  no  assurance  that  we  shall  discharge 
them  with  success  if  the  Bible  is  left  out  of  our  edu- 
cation. 

Nor  are  Presbyterian  Churches  unmindful  of  the 
influence  in  favor  of  education  exerted  by  authors, 
teachers,  agencies,  institutions,  or  journals  not  form- 
ally under  their  control  but  devoted  to  instruction 
in  their  doctrine.  Even  a  catalogue  of  these  agencies 
cannot  be  attempted.  As  we  canvass  this  arra}^  of 
the  educational  forces  of  Presbyterian  Churches,  we 
exclaim,  how  fit,  how  well  adapted  to  enlighten  man- 
kind and  to  advance  the  Kingdom  of  Light  and 


248  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY. 

bring  men  to  a  knowledge  of  the  Gospel,  to  save  souls 
and  to  maintain  a  free  Church  in  a  free  State !  No- 
where is  there  a  lack  of  opportunity,  or  men,  or  meas- 
ures, the  only  deficiency — the  only  lack — is  the  sup- 
ply of  means  with  which  its  membership  has  been 
so  largely  blessed.  Did  not  their  consecration  in- 
clude their  wealth  as  well  as  themselves  ?  Do  they 
so  cherish  their  gold  and  silver  that  they  are  unwill- 
ing to  give  of  their  superabundance  to  preserve  the 
faith  which  their  fathers  died  to  maintain — the  faith 
upon  which  depends  their  hope  of  immortality? 
Shall  we  surrender  our  birthright  for  a  mess  of  pot- 
tage? Shall  we  hold  the  things  of  this  world  so 
tightly  in  our  grasp  that  they  can  be  bestowed  for 
the  benefit  of  others  only  when  our  hand  is  cold  in 
death  !  Shall  not  Presbyterian  Churches  rouse  them- 
selves to  this  full  responsibility  for  the  education  of 
the  youth  of  to-day  that  they  may  go  forth  with  a 
consecration  never  before  witnessed,  and  thus  use 
their  inheritance  of  privilege  and  means  to  prepare 
better  and  greater  things  for  the  magnificent  century 
about  to  begin  ? 


PRESBYTERIANISM   AND   ITS   INFLU- 
ENCE UPON  SOCIETY  THKOUGH 
ITS   EMPHASIS   UPON   CHILD- 
HOOD  AND   YOUTH. 

BY   THE 

Rev.   NEWELL   DWKJHT   HILLIS,   D.  D. 


PRESBYTERIANISM  AND  ITS  INFLUENCE 
UPON  SOCIETY  THROUGH  ITS  EMPHASIS 
UPON  CHILDHOOD  AND  YOUTH. 

BY   THE 

Rev.  NEWELL  DWIGHT  HILLIS,  D.  D. 


In  the  highest  sense  Jesus  Christ  may  be  called 
the  discoverer  of  childhood.  In  an  age  when  king- 
doms were  founded  upon  thrones  and  armies  he  an- 
nounced the  monarchy  of  cradles.  Surrounded  by 
jurists  and  scholars,  he  placed  a  child  in  their  midst, 
and  crowned  its  dispositional  qualities  as  the  highest 
types  of  the  heavenly  kingdom.  Nature  can  change 
a  small  seed  into  a  golden  sheaf,  an  acorn  into  an 
acre-covering  oak  ;  and  Christ  announced  a  power  for 
transforming  a  babe  into  a  sage,  a  hero,  a  statesman, 
a  seer.  For  teachers  and  parents  he  exhibited  the 
child  as  a  handful  of  germs  and  roots  to  be  grown  as 
a  bough  of  unblossomed  buds.  If  Socrates  sneered  at 
the  grief  of  a  mother  weeping  for  her  babe ;  if  Plato 
suggested  that  every  town  or  city  should  select  some 
distant  hill-top  and  there  build  a  pen  for  the  expo- 
sure of  unwelcome  children  ;  if  Aristotle  urged  laws 
making  the  drowning  of  weak  babes  compulsory 
upon  parents ;  if  Seneca  said  "  we  slay  the  worn  out 

251 


252  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

OX  and  horse  and  it  is  not  wrath  but  reason  that 
separates  weak  children  from  strong " ;  in  striking 
contrast  therewith  Jesus  Christ  took  a  child  in  his 
arms,  and  in  its  trust,  teachableness,  and  purity  dis- 
covered forces  that  threatened  thrones  and  made  the 
might  of  kings  ridiculous.  For  him,  the  grave  itself 
was  not  so  overarched  by  awe  and  mystery  as  was 
the  cradle,  and  his  love  brooded  over  the  child  in  his 
arms  as  the  star  stood  over  the  divine  child  in  the 
manger.  Down  through  the  ages  unto  distant  gener- 
ations he  sent  forth  this  word,  "  Suffer  little  children 
to  come  unto  me." 

From  that  hour  his  disciples  began  to  make  at- 
tractive for  all  young  feet  those  paths  that  lead  to 
the  temple  of  knowledge  and  beauty.  Because  Christ 
made  childhood  sacred,  Christian  parents  and  teach- 
ers began  to  make  all  forces  and  institutions  to  exist 
for  the  enrichment  of  youth.  For  children  laws  be- 
came just  and  gentle.  For  children  the  wheels  of 
industry  turned  round.  For  children  the  walls  and 
shelves  became  beautiful.  For  children  schools  were 
founded,  colleges  strengthened,  printing  presses  ran 
day  and  night.  For  youth  homes  became  happy,  music 
became  sweet  and  high,  the  gallery  and  library  took 
on  a  lustrous  grace.  Indeed,  a  new  epoch  dawned 
for  society.  Thenceforth  all  institutions  began  to  imi- 
tate the  wise  men  from  the  east,  who  brought  to  the 
divine  child  their  rich  gold  and  aromatic  spices,  their 
frankincense  and  treasure.     To-day  Christ's  estimate 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  253 

of  childhood  is  the  very  heart  and  genius  of  Christian 
civilization. 

But  when  we  have  affirmed  that  for  all  churches, 
Lutheran,  Anglican,  and  Reformed  alike,  the  found- 
ing of  schools  and  colleges  has  been  the  immediate 
and  powerful  result  of  the  acceptance  of  Christ's  esti- 
mate of  childhood,  we  may  also  affirm  that  the  genius, 
principles,  and  methods  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
have  been  such  as  to  strengthen  in  a  way  altogether 
unique,  those  instruments  that  make  for  the  happi- 
ness and  culture  of  youth.  History  tells  us  that  in 
Geneva  the  colleges  sprang  up  under  the  very  eaves 
of  the  church  in  which  Calvin  preached.  In  Hol- 
land, when  "  William  the  Silent "  became  a  Calvinist, 
he  directed  that  the  teachers  for  adults  on  the  Sab- 
bath should  become  teachers  of  children  on  week 
days.  In  Scotland,  when  our  fathers  had  finished 
the  Solemn  League  and  Covenant,  they  went  on  to 
found  their  public  schools,  their  great  universities. 
In  our  own  land  also  it  must  be  a  matter  of  pride 
with  us  and  our  children  that  the  founders  of  Har- 
vard, Yale,  and  Princeton  all  held  to  the  Reformed 
faith.  In  that  Grecian  scene,  when  the  little  child, 
ignorant  of  its  danger,  loitered  on  the  way  to  the 
temple,  an  unseen  friend  drew  near,  and  rolling 
golden  apples  along  the  path,  caused  the  child  to  run 
gleefully  towards  the  portals  of  safety.  And  for  two 
centuries  Presbyterian  teachers  and  parents  have 
sought  to  lend  allurement  and  beauty  to  those  paths 


254  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

that  lead  toward  that  temple  where  wisdom  hath  her 
dwelling  place.  Standing  in  the  pulpit  or  forum,  in 
library  or  legislative  hall,  our  Presbyterian  fathers 
have  insisted  that  the  State  that  throws  a  wall  of  pro- 
tection around  its  iron-furnaces  and  cotton-factories, 
should  also  throw  shields  of  learning  and  morals 
around  young  feet,  and  for  young  hearts  make  possi- 
ble a  fair  start  in  that  dangerous  thing  called  life. 
Already  we  have  traced  the  influence  of  Presbyterian- 
ism  upon  our  law  and  literature,  our  art  and  morals, 
our  science  and  government,  our  social  and  civic 
institutions.  But,  if  in  calling  the  roll  of  the  great 
men  of  this  nation,  the  number  of  Presbyterian  presi- 
dents, of  legislators  and  jurists,  of  authors  and  editors, 
teachers  and  merchants  has  been  vastly  dispropor- 
tionate to  the  membership  of  our  church,  we  shall 
find  the  explanation  of  this  unique  pre-eminency  in 
the  simple  fact  that  our  Church  has  stood  for  the 
family  and  the  children  in  it,  emphasizing  the 
mother's  heart  as  the  true  university,  emphasizing 
the  father  as  teacher  and  priest,  insisting  upon  the 
higher  education  for  its  daughters,  founding  colleges 
and  universities  for  the  culture  of  its  sons.  For  let 
us  confess  that  whatever  is  unique  in  the  manhood 
of  the  hero,  inventor,  or  statesman  was  first  of  all 
unique  in  his  childhood. 

The  emphasis  that  the  Presbyterian  Church  has 
placed  upon  God's  covenant  with  parents  for  their 
children,  has  exerted  an  immeasurable  influence  upon 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  255 

the  nation's  thought  and  life.  If  tlie  English  and 
American  Baptist  Churches,  though  Calvinistic  in 
creed,  have  minimized  the  Abrahamic  covenant,  that 
covenant  has  been  magnified  by  the  Presbyterians. 
In  a  world  where  the  home  is  safer  for  an  outer 
covenant  called  the  marriage  ceremony ;  where  justice 
in  our  courts  is  the  surer  for  the  covenant,  pledging 
a  man  to  speak  the  truth  ;  where  governments  are 
more  firmly  founded,  because  presidents  take  the 
solemn  oath  to  fulfil  the  laws;  the  Church  has  urged 
parents  through  a  public  and  solemn  ceremony  to 
accept  Abraham's  covenant  as  unto  us  and  our  chil- 
dren after  us.  One  of  the  results  has  been  that 
greater  sanctit}''  could  not  have  attached  to  the  child 
in  the  cradle,  had  God  taken  the  babe  in  his  arms, 
consecrated  it  with  some  sacred  farewell,  given  it  over 
to  a  celestial  messenger,  and  sent  it  forth  bearing  a 
scroll  of  heavenly  writ  on  which  was  written,  "  This 
babe  is  my  well-beloved  one ;  take  it,  teach  it ;  when 
you  have  stored  it  with  treasures  of  mind  and  heart, 
bring  it  again  to  me."  It  is  a  truism  that  every 
child  has  a  right  to  a  good  first  birth ;  and  it  may 
be  doubted  whether  any  children  in  the  community 
are  better  born,  cared  for,  or  trained  than  those  reared 
in  the  homes  of  the  Reformed  faith.  And  under  the 
laws  of  nature  a  certain  result  of  home  care  and 
culture  is,  that  all  that  is  best  in  the  parent's  mind 
and  heart  is  handed  forward  to  the  children  and  to 
the  children's  children,  so  making  each  new  genera- 


256  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

tion  healthier,  happier,  handsomer,  wiser,  and  better 
than  its  predecessor,  giving  us  good  hope  of  an  era 
when  a  redeemed  society  shall  dwell  upon  the  earth. 
Science  affirms  that  heredity  is  to  usher  in  an  era  of 
universal  happiness  and  peace.  But  this  law  that 
science  has  only  recently  emphasized  was  fully  stated 
by  Moses  more  than  three  thousand  years  ago,  when 
he  tells  us  that  the  vices  and  sins  of  the  fathers  are 
not  permitted  to  go  beyond  the  third  and  fourth  gen- 
eration, while  the  knowledge  and  virtues  of  the 
righteous  are  put  out  at  compound  interest  for  "  thou- 
sands of  generations  of  them  that  love  me  and  keep  my 
commandments."  And  our  church's  emphasis  of  God's 
covenant  with  parents  seems  fully  justified  by  the 
career  of  the  great  and  small  men  of  history.  A 
noble  Hebrew  mother  braves  Pharaoh's  wrath,  and 
her  moral  courage  appears  in  the  leadership  of  her 
son  Moses.  Avaricious  Jacob  covets  Esau's  wealth 
and  deceives  his  father.  Then  Jacob's  avarice  reap- 
pears in  his  sons,  and,  exchanging  Joseph  for  the  gold 
of  the  slave-dealers,  they  in  turn  deceive  Jacob. 
Trust  in  God  is  a  striking  quality  in  Hannah,  and 
that  beautiful  trust  is  more  striking  in  her  son 
Samuel.  John  is  the  forerunner  of  Jesus,  but  Zacha- 
rias  is  the  forerunner  of  John.  Sitting  at  twilight 
in  her  open  window  in  Hippo,  Monica,  like  Stephen, 
sees  the  heavens  open  and  the  angels  of  God  descend- 
ing, and  then  the  mother's  vision  power  reappears 
in  her  great  son  Augustine,  who  saw  the  City  of 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  257 

God  as  an  Ideal  Commonwealth  coming  down  out  of 
heaven.  We  say  Paganini  is  the  first  of  violinists, 
but  Paganini  was  born  with  muscles  in  his  wrists 
that  stood  out  like  whip-cords.  We  say  Sebastian 
Bach  is  a  great  musician  ;  but  there  were  one  hundred 
and  twenty-six  people  of  the  name  of  Bach  living  in 
France  and  Germany  during  a  single  century,  for 
music  is  hereditary  in  this  great  family.  Catharine 
de  Medici  is  cruel  and  ferocious,  and  her  ferocity 
reappears  in  Charles  IX.  ordering  the  massacre  of  St. 
Bartholomew ;  for  if  the  mother  was  a  hawk,  pounc- 
ing down  upon  young  doves,  the  son  was  a  wolf 
slaying  for  mere  love  of  blood.  English  critics  rank 
Emerson  as  the  first  essayist  of  the  century,  but 
Emerson  represents  seven  generations  of  clergymen 
who  were  essa3'ists  and  scholars.  Abraham  Lincoln 
was  distinguished  for  stature,  lucid  statement,  and  wit 
and  humor,  but  his  mother,  Nancy  Hanks,  was  the 
daughter  of  one  of  the  handsomest,  most  talented, 
and  influential  of  all  the  Virginia  planters.  Thinking 
of  heredity,  we  liken  the  child  unto  a  cask  whose 
staves  represent  trees  growing  on  distant  and  widely 
separated  hills ;  some  staves  are  worm-eaten,  standing 
for  the  errors  of  sinful  ancestors ;  some  staves  are 
sound,  standing  for  God-fearing  forefathers;  and 
all  the  staves  are  brought  together  at  the  child's  birth 
to  be  filled  by  parents  and  friends.  On  Easter  day  in 
St.  Peter's  a  golden  urn  is  placed  before  the  altar, 
and  the  multitudes  passing  by,  drop  in,  some  their 

17 


258  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

gold,  some  their  pearls  and  diamonds,  some  their 
silks  and  costly  stuffs.  But  if  the  Presbyterian 
Church  asks  each  parent  to  cause  the  child's  mind, 
as  a  vase  to  be  stored  with  gold  from  the  best  books, 
with  beauty  from  the  best  pictures  and  landscapes, 
and  truth  from  the  divinest  religion ;  on  the  other 
hand,  atheistic  nations,  through  their  neglect,  make 
their  children  to  seem  like  unto  those  vessels  of  dis- 
honor that  stand  in  the  alleys,  to  receive  the  refuse 
represented  by  the  vices  and  immoralities  of  our  ten- 
ement districts. 

The  emphasis  that  Presbyterianism  has  placed 
upon  the  child's  predisposition  to  selfishness  and  sin, 
and  the  consequent  necessity  of  the  systematic 
culture  of  the  higher  spiritual  faculties,  has  had  the 
inevitable  result  of  the  emphasis  of  habit  and 
method  as  the  very  basis  of  character.  Speaking  in 
Washington,  a  distinguished  bishop  of  the  Method- 
ist Church  explained  the  wealth,  influence,  and  pre- 
cedence of  Presbyterian  families  by  our  catechisms 
for  children  and  youth,  and  our  systematic  drill  in 
Scriptures.  A  century  ago  an  English  deist  calling 
upon  Coleridge  inveighed  bitterly  against  the  rigidity 
of  instruction  in  the  Christian  home.  "  Consider," 
said  he,  "  the  helplessness  of  a  pastor's  child.  How 
selfish  is  the  parent  Avho  rutlilessly  stamps  his  ideas 
and  religious  prejudices,  into  the  receptive  nature  as 
a  moulder  stamps  the  hot  iron  with  his  image.  I 
shall  prejudice  my  children  neither  for  Christianity 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  259 

nor  for  Buddhism,  but  allow  them  to  wait  for  their 
mature  years  and  then  choose  for  themselves."  A 
little  later  Coleridge  led  his  atheistic  friend  into  the 
garden.  Suddenly  he  exclaimed,  "  The  time  was 
when  in  April  I  killed  the  young  weeds  and  put  my 
beds  out  to  vegetables,  flowers,  and  fruits.  But  I  have 
now  decided  to  permit  the  garden  to  go  on  until  Aug- 
ust or  September,  and  then  allow  the  beds  to  choose  for 
themselves  between  weeds  and  fruit.  I  am  unwilling 
to  prejudice  the  soil  either  toward  thistles  and  cockle- 
burs  or  roses  and  violets."  In  tliat  hour  Coleridge 
unconsciously  stated  the  genius  of  Presbyterianism 
in  its  relation  to  childhood  and  youth,  seeking  through 
systematic  drill  to  develop  spiritual  aptitudes  and 
habits. 

Often  those  who  disbelieve  in  the  Presbyterian 
emphasis  on  family  worship  and  regular  Bible  in- 
struction, urge  that  our  systematic  drill  in  religion 
destroys  spontaneity,  that  habit  and  rule  do  away 
with  freshness  of  feeling.  Nevertheless,  the  method 
of  the  Church  is  the  method  of  nature.  Working  to 
a  rule  nature  lays  the  warm  tints  into  the  rose  and 
]xiints  the  apple- blossom.  By  rule  nature  mixes  the 
tints  of  the  strawberry.  By  rule  nature  works  coal- 
dust  into  diamonds  and  clay  into  sapphire.  By  rule 
nature  covers  the  hills  with  the  rich  glow  of  cluster- 
ing food,  and  lends  a  spice  and  tang  to  peach  and 
pear.  In  the  creative  realm  also,  just  in  proportion 
as  men  have  gone  toward  habit  and  method  in  the 


260  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

intellectual  life,  have  they  gone  toward .  spontaneity 
of  genius.  The  poet  David  is  by  pre-eminence  the 
child  of  creative  inspiration.  But  David  says, 
"  morning  and  noon  and  night  do  I  pray."  For  it  is 
system  that  feeds  in  him  the  springs  of  inspiration. 
Those  orators,  too,  who  have  been  most  famous  for 
spontaneous  eloquence,  Webster,  Phillips,  Beecher, 
Gladstone,  have  given  whole  years  to  drilling  them- 
selves in  voice,  posture,  gesture  and  expression.  Obey- 
ing the  laws  of  language,  the  essayists  have  their  elo- 
quence. Obeying  the  laws  of  color,  the  artists  have 
their  beauty.  Obeying  the  laws  of  melody,  the  song 
has  its  sweetness.  Nor  does  history  show  one 
great  architect,  sculptor,  or  lecturer  who  has  at- 
tained excellence  in  any  department  of  life,  who  has 
not  had  his  pre-eminence  through  his  emphasis  of 
habit  and  rule.  For  nature  and  experience  alike 
stand  back  of  our  Church  in  its  estimate  of  the 
importance  of  drill  and  training  in  the  Christian 
life. 

The  estimate  that  Presbyterianism  has  placed  upon 
the  critical  hours  of  youth  has  led  it  to  emphasize  the 
intellectual  instruments  that  make  for  higher  educa- 
tion, and  hence  it  has  naturally  a  close  affiliation 
with  the  arts,  sciences,  and  literature.  Believing 
that  wisdom  is  better  than  rubies,  and  knowledge 
than  fine  gold,  from  the  beginning  our  fathers  de- 
fined ignorance  as  failure,  and  success  as  knowing 
how.     They  held  that  the  doing  that  makes  com- 


ANNIVERSAR  Y  ADDRESSES.  261 

mcrce  is  born  of  the  thinking  that  makes  scholars. 
They  taught  their  children  that  the  scholar  is  the 
favorite  child  of  heaven  and  earth,  that  elect  one 
upon  whom  the  good  God  pours  fortli  all  his  most 
precious  gifts.  Other  systems  of  philosophy  and  re- 
ligion have  emphasized  the  land,  sea,  and  sky,  but 
the  Presbyterian  system  has  emphasized  God,  his 
divine  government,  his  all-loving  providence.  It 
taught  the  young  to  ponder  on  those  high  questions : 
What  is  conscience  ?  Is  duty  or  pleasure  the  basis 
of  right  ?  Is  man  free  ?  Is  law  invariable  ?  What 
is  right?  Pleasure?  Self-sacrifice?  Is  man  im- 
mortal? And  these  great  thoughts  made  young  men 
to  be  great  thinkers.  For  eloquent  orators  do  not 
discuss  petty  themes.  Great  philosophical  systems 
cannot  be  built  upon  the  spawn  of  frogs  or  the  ooze 
of  sloughs.  The  woes  of  India  lent  eloquence  to 
Burke.  The  Madonna  lent  loveliness  to  Raphael. 
Paradise  lent  beauty  to  Dante  and  strength  to  Milton. 
And  the  divine  truths  that  our  fathers  emphasized 
have  been  among  the  most  powerful  stimulants  ever 
known  to  the  mind  and  heart.  In  the  profoundest  sense 
the  Church  that  most  closely  allies  itself  to  the  teach- 
ing of  Christ  becomes  the  greatest  force  in  society.  For 
in  itself  Christianity  is  a  beautiful  civilization.  Once 
men  actually  began  to  understand  Christ's  revelation 
of  God,  the  architects  began  to  tax  themselves  to  build 
cathedrals  worthy  of  the  worship  of  him  whom  the 
heaven  of  heavens  could  not  contain.     Artists  vic<l 


262  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

with  one  another  to  create  angels  beautiful  enough 
for  the  walls  of  Christ's  temples.  Sculptors  went 
everywhither  searching  out  marble  white  enough  for 
Christ's  forehead.  Handel  taxed  his  genius  for  songs 
sweet  enough  for  Christ's  praise.  And  in  the  found- 
ing of  schools  and  colleges  for  all  young  feet,  where 
men  should  discourse  upon  the  home,  the  State,  the 
marriage  tie,  the  children  about  the  hearth,  upon  art 
and  beauty,  our  Church  came  to  affiliate  itself  with 
the  institutions  of  higher  education.  Its  intellectual 
associations  have  been  many  and  honorable.  Having 
brought  wisdom  and  happiness  to  the  children  about 
the  hearth,  it  has  indirectly  brought  progress  to  the 
State,  thus  exercising  influence  immeasurable  upon 
all  civilization. 

Having  insisted  upon  the  schools  of  higher  educa- 
tion for  our  sons  and  daughters,  it  became  necessary 
for  the  Church  to  insist  upon  the  higher  education 
for  the  ministry  under  whom  these  children  were  to 
sit.  When  parents  have  been  trained  to  rise  up  early 
and  sit  up  late  to  rehearse  the  truth  of  God  to  their 
children,  the  next  step  was  the  higher  education  of 
that  group  of  sons  destined  to  enter  its  ministry.  If 
certain  sister  churches  known  as  Arminian,  and  cer- 
tain Calvinistic  churches  known  as  Baptist,  continued 
for  generations  to  minimize  education  for  the  min- 
istry, for  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  the  Presby- 
terian Church  has  insisted  upon  the  higher  training 
of  those  who  were  to  teach  our  youth  the  oracles  of 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  2G2 

God.  And  to  this  single  fact  we  may  attribute  the 
unprecedented  influence  upon  civihzation  of  Scotland 
and  England  and  America.  If  the  time  was  when 
historians  mentioned  warriors,  kings,  and  generals, 
the  time  has  now  come  when  historians  have  to 
recognize  the  influence  of  moral  teachers  in  the  rise 
and  progress  of  the  people.  Webster  through  stately 
orations,  Choate  through  impassioned  addresses,  and 
Froude  through  polished  essays,  have  all  affirmed 
that  our  town  meeting  and  representative  govern- 
ment go  back  to  Calvin's  pulpit  in  Geneva.  In  the 
realm  of  literature  also,  Macaulay  and  Morley  de- 
clare that  Shakespeare,  Milton,  and  Tennyson  re- 
ceived their  literary  inspiration  as  a  free  gift  from 
those  religious  teachers  named  Cadman  and  Bede, 
and  those  pastors  who  gave  us  our  King  James  ver- 
sion of  the  Bible.  Standing  before  the  cathedral  of 
Wittenberg,  Jean  Paul  uncovered  his  head  and  said, 
"  The  story  of  the  German  language  and  literature 
is  the  story  of  Martin  Luther's  pulpit."  Speaking  of 
the  pleas  for  patriotism  and  liberty  that  led  up  to  the 
revolution,  Emerson  said  the  Puritan  pulpits  were 
the  springs  of  American  liberty.  In  his  celebrated 
argument  in  the  Girard  College  case,  when  Daniel 
Webster  was  discussing  the  ministry  in  its  relation  to 
children  and  youth,  the  great  jurist  asked  this  ques- 
tion, "  Where  have  the  life-giving  elements  of  civili- 
zation ever  sprung  up,  save  in  the  track  of  the  Chris- 
tian  ministry."     Having  expressed   the   hope   that 


264  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

American  scholars  had  done  something  for  the  honor 
of  literature  ahroad,  that  our  courts  of  justice  had  to 
some  degree  exalted  the  law,  that  orations  in  Congress 
had  tended  to  secure  the  charter  of  human  rights, 
Daniel  Webster  added  these  words,  "  But  I  contend 
that  no  literary  effort,  no  adjudications,  no  constitu- 
tional discussion,  nothing  that  has  ever  been  done  or 
said  in  favor  of  the  great  interests,  of  the  universal  in- 
terests of  man,  has  done  this  country  more  credit  at 
home  and  abroad  than  our  body  of  clergymen."  In 
commerce,  writing  for  a  prominent  journal,  a  manu- 
facturer has  just  said  that  he  has  learned  to  fear  the 
competition  of  the  sons  of  ministers,  because  they 
have  good  habits,  are  educated,  know  the  value  of 
money,  and  can  handle  men.  In  politics,  reviewing 
the  last  campaign  and  the  candidates  of  the  various 
parties  for  the  presidency,  an  editor  said  political 
parties  must  reckon  with  colleges  and  the  sons  or 
grandsons  of  clergymen.  Those  volumes  called  the 
Dictionary  of  Science  disclose  the  men  that  the  clergy 
have  furnished,  the  large  proportion,  ten  to  one,  of 
the  great  scientists  of  our  era. 

Be  the  reasons  what  they  may,  when  we  have 
emphasized  the  influence  of  war,  politics,  commerce, 
law,  science,  government,  we  must  also  confess  that 
the  pulpit  has  been  one  of  the  greatest  forces  in 
social  progress.  For  the  prophets  of  yesterday  are 
the  social  leaders  of  to-morrow.  To-morrow  Moses 
will  enter  his  pulpit  and  control  the  verdict  in  every 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  20;") 

court  in  our  cities.  To-morrow  as  Germans  we  will  ut- 
ter the  speech  that  Luther  fashioned  for  us,  or  as  Sax- 
ons use  idioms  that  Wycliffe  and  Bunyan  taught  our 
fatliers.  To-morrow  the  citizen  will  exercise  his 
privilege  of  freedom  of  thought  and  speech  and 
recall  Guizot's  words,  "  Democracy  crossed  over  into 
Europe  in  the  little  boat  that  brought  Paul."  To- 
morrow the  groom  and  bride  will  set  up  their  altar, 
and  kindling  the  sacred  fires  of  affection,  will  found 
their  home  upon  Paul's  principle,  "  The  greatest  of 
these  is  love."  To-morrow  educators,  authors,  and 
jurists  will  re-read  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  and 
influenced  by  this  sermon,  society  will  seek  to  put 
justice  into  law,  ethics  into  politics,  goodwill  into 
commerce,  and  righteousness  into  all  social  life.  It 
is  said  that  many  young  men  are  being  allured  into 
the  paths  of  commerce  through  the  enormous  wealth 
that  trade  offers.  But  if  the  Presbyterian  minister 
averages  six  hundred  dollars  a  year,  and  our  mer- 
chants have  their  millions,  these  merchants  need  their 
millions  to  compensate  for  tlie  fiict  that  they  are  not 
clergymen  founding  a  college  for  ignorance,  a  hospi- 
tal for  hurt  hearts,  an  armory  from  which  men  may 
receive  weapons  for  life's  battle,  opening  up  springs 
in  life's  desert,  and  planting  palms  in  life's  burning 
sands.  For  the  ministry  puts  its  stamp  not  into 
wood  that  will  rot,  not  into  iron  that  will  rust,  not 
into  colors  that  will  fade,  but  into  minds  and  hearts 
that  are  immortal.     It  deals  largely  with  the  forma- 


266  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

tion,  instruction,  and  culture  of  childhood  and  youth, 
and  with  the  establishment  of  youth  in  vital  habits, 
hopes,  and  faiths.  The  historian  tells  us  that  when 
an  Italian  princess  was  defeated  in  battle  the  victor 
claimed  her  child  as  a  trophy  of  war.  In  the  hour 
when  the  soldiers  came  to  take  away  the  child, 
the  mother  rushed  from  the  house,  tore  her  jewels 
from  her,  and  emptied  all  her  gold  and  treasure  at 
the  child's  feet.  In  the  same  hour  that  the  brutal 
general  would  fain  have  slain  the  little  one  that 
threatened  his  succession,  the  mother  caused  her 
palace  to  empty  all  its  treasures  about  this  little  one, 
whom  she  loved  more  than  her  life.  It  is  not  given 
us  through  voice  or  hand  to  reach  forward  and  touch 
future  generations.  But  futurity  is  vulnerable  at 
that  point  named  childhood.  Happy  our  Church 
that  has  made  the  family  to  be  the  spring  of  prog- 
ress ;  that  makes  the  heart  beautiful  for  the  children ; 
that  has  made  the  school  rich  for  the  mind,  the 
gallery  beautiful  for  imagination,  the  marriage  altar 
sacred  for  the  eager  heart ;  that  has  plied  its  sons 
and  daughters  with  influences  that  make  for  mis- 
sions; that  has  founded  bands  of  hope,  endeavor 
societies,  and  fed  all  the  forces  that  ally  young  hearts 
with  the  Christian  Church. 

Grateful  for  what  our  fathers  have  lent  us  of  law, 
or  learning,  or  liberty,  our  chief  debt  is  for  what  they 
have  done  for  us  through  the  enrichment  of  child- 
hood.     And   should   an   age   ever   come   when   we 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  267 

neglect  the  training  of  our  little  ones,  cease  to  ply 
them  with  the  great  truths  of  God  and  Christ,  of 
sin  and  redemption,  and  conscience  and  immortality, 
an  immense  loss  would  befall  our  Church  and  our 
nation.  Eloquence  will  depart  from  our  forum,  the 
glory  will  fade  from  library  and  chapel,  all  lustre 
will  leave  our  learning  and  our  laws.  We  can  re- 
cord no  higher  prayer  than  that  the  spirit  of  our 
fathers,  which  led  them  to  rise  up  early  and  sit  up 
late,  for  the  rehearsing  of  the  truth  of  God,  may  be 
our  heritage  and  spirit  also.  May  goodness  like 
theirs  glorify  our  churches.  May  heaven  drop  its 
charmed  gifts  upon  our  children  and  our  children's 
children,  until  all  are  Christians  and  patriots  and 
sons  of  God. 


THE   PRESBYTERIAN   CHURCHES 
AND   HOME   MISSIONS. 

BY  THE 

Rkv.  GEO.   L.   SPINING.   D.  D. 


THE  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCHES  AND 
HOME  MISSIONS. 

BY 

Rev.  GEO.  L.  SPINING,  D.  D. 


The  spirit  of  a  mighty  past  has  come  upon  us  this 
day ;  the  curtain  of  history  has  been  uplifted ;  the 
fathers  of  Presbyterianism  have  reappeared  upon  the 
stage ;  their  heroic  deeds  have  stirred  our  souls  as 
with  the  sound  of  a  trumpet;  battle  hymns  of  the 
16th  century  have  been  caught  up  loyally  and  an- 
swered back  in  a  thundering  chorus  from  the  head 
of  the  column  in  the  19th  century ;  oratory  aglow 
with  inspiration  has  thrilled  us  with  the  electricity 
of  kinship  which  unites  the  great  million-hearted 
Presbyterian  Church  of  to-day  with  the  heroes  of  the 
Reformation,  with  martyrs  of  whom  the  world  was 
not  worthy,  with  Scots  who  gave  to  the  old  Grayfriars' 
Churchyard  everlasting  renown,  with  divines  who 
gave  to  Westminster  Abbey  its  greatest  monumental 
significance,  and  with  the  Puritan,  the  Huguenot, 
and  the  Covenanter  who  brought  Presbyterianism 
and   Republicanism — mother   and   child — from   the 

271 


272  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

Old  World  to  the  New :  who  framed  the  Constitution 
of  the  State  upon  the  polity  of  the  Church ;  and  who 
under  God  made  America — grand  imperial  America 
— what  it  is  to-day,  humanity's  most  powerful  advo- 
cate and  the  world's  best  exponent  of  civil  and  religi- 
ous liberty ! 

Oh  thou  religious  mother  of  heroes,  reformers,  and 
martyr-confessors !  thou  patriot  mother  of  sons  whose 
names  illumine  our  Declaration  of  Independence!  thou 
mother  of  children  whose  blood  cemented  our  politi- 
cal fabric,  and  whose  lives  have  passed  into  all  the 
noble  institutions  which  constitute  the  strength  and 
glory  of  our  Republic,  we  salute  thee  to-night ! 

Thy  history  is  the  rich  heritage  of  thy  sons  and 
daughters,  and  woe  is  unto  us  if  we  allow  it  to  perish 
from  the  earth,  for  within  it  lies  the  heroism  of  faith, 
the  stimulus  of  example,  the  wisdom  of  experience, 
the  teachings  of  Providence,  and  the  prophecy  of  the 
future. 

To  remember  thee  is  to  be  ourselves  remembered ; 
to  forget  thee  is  to  be  ourselves  forgotten ! 

Whence  cometh  the  old  Norse  legend  that  the 
spirits  of  patriot  martyrs  are  permitted  to  return  and 
hover  over  their  descendants  on  anniversary  and 
memorial  days?  What  meaneth  the  "great cloud  of 
witnesses  "in  Holy  AVrit?  What  is  the  significance 
of  that  vast  star-reaching  amphitheater  of  shining 
immortals  ever  looking  down  upon  the  church  ?  Ah, 
it  means  that 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  273 

"  We  are  not  divided, 
All  one  body  we, 
One  in  hope  and  doctrine. 
One  in  charity." 

— that  the  Church  in  lieaven  and  earth  is  one ;  that 
the  church  miHtant  needs  the  flashing  inspiration  of 
the  church  triumphant ;  that  the  shadow  of  a 
vaster  presence — a  more  imposing  assemblage  than 
mortal  eyes  have  ever  seen  is  over  us;  and  that 
God  would  utilize  the  heroism  of  illustrious  ex- 
amples, the  achievements  of  conquering  faith,  and 
the  ravishing  glory  of  the  victor-crowned  host  to 
animate  and  quicken  the  sacramental  host  on  earth 
until  the  end  of  time. 

We  speak  of  the  "  dead  past,"  but  the  past  is  never 
dead.  Who  are  the  leaders  of  the  Church  to-day, 
Canon  Farrar,  or  Paul  the  tentmaker?  Leo  XIII.  or 
Peter  the  fisherman  ? 

Are  Washington  and  Lincoln  dead,  and  do  not 
their  names  contain  a  magic  power  to  waken  mil- 
lions to  noble  endeavor? 

Ah,  the  past  is  never  dead  !  All  history  is  God's 
mighty  electric  battery  charged  to  the  full  with 
slumbering  forces  which  have  subdued  kingdoms, 
overturned  thrones,  and  shaken  the  world  to  its 
center. 

To-day  we  have  but  touched  a  pole  connecting  us 
with  the  stirring  scenes  of  the  great  Reformation, 
and  although  three  centuries  have  passed  since  those 

18 


274  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

scenes  were  enacted,  that  touch  has  sent  such  a  thrill 
through  this  body  as  to 

"Stir  a  fever  in  the  blood  of  age, 
And  make  the  infant's  sinews  strong  as  steel." 

The  end  of  this  anniversary  is  not  self-glorification 
and  an  ostentatious  parade  of  denominationalism. 
Nay,  God's  hand  is  in  it,  and  it  means  remembrance, 
stimulus,  inspiration,  life  from  the  dead,  and  a 
glorious  flood  of  light  on  some  of  the  dark  pro- 
blems of  history. 

We  see  clearly  now  why  America  was  not  given  to 
Spain  in  1492,  and  why  the  massive  doors  of  our 
vast  domain  were  locked  and  bolted  for  a  century 
thereafter. 

It  was  because  the  master  builders  of  the  future 
kingdom  of  God  in  the  New  World  were  still  in  their 
apprenticeship  :  Luther,  Calvin,  and  Knox  had  their 
work  to  do ;  the  new  Israel  was  still  toiling  in  the 
brick3^ards  of  Egypt  and  not  ready  for  its  exodus ; 
the  Spanish  inquisition  had  its  grip  of  steel  on  con- 
science and  intellect,  and  an  unchained  Bible  and 
the  printing-press  had  not  yet  effected  their  emanci- 
pation ;  the  money-changers  held  the  temple  of 
Christianity  and  their  god  Mammon  was  therein  en- 
throned, while  the  Master  "  kept  tryst  with  his  saints 
in  the  mountains — his  locks  wet  with  the  dews  of  the 
morning  " ;  a  holy  war  for  civil  and  religious  liberty 
was  raging;  shining  saints  were  to  be  born  of  fire, 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  275 

and  tempest,  and  sword ;  and  men  of  clean  heart, 
clear  brain,  enlightened  conscience,  and  nerve  were 
needed  as  standard-bearers  of  emancipated  Truth — 
around  whom  the  elect  from  many  nations  should 
gather,  and  by  whom  they  should  be  led  from  the 
Old  World  to  the  New.  For  such  reasons,  if  we  in- 
terpret history  aright,  did  the  Angel  of  Providence 
stand  with  mailed  hand  and  drawn  sword  at  the 
eastern  gates  of  this  fair  continent ;  and  when  with 
far-discerning  eye  he  saw  the  banner  of  Protestant 
Christendom  emerging  like  a  flame  of  glory  from 
the  dark  battle-clouds  of  the  Reformation — borne 
aloft  by  the  scarred  Huguenots  of  France,  the  heroic 
exiles  of  Holland,  the  grim  psalm-singing  Puritans 
of  England,  and  the  firm,  unfaltering  Covenanters 
of  Scotland,  he  sheathed  his  sword,  his  mission  was 
ended,  the  ponderous  gates  swung  open  wide,  the 
winds  of  God  Avere  loosed,  and  over  a  stormy  sea  the 
nucleus  of  a  new-born  world  was  wafted  to  its  wilder- 
ness home,  its  field  of  continental  conquest,  and  its 
magnificent  destiny. 

Oh,  America,  America !  thou  latter-day  Canaan  of 
humanity,  child  of  the  Reformation,  mighty  enlight- 
ened free  Republic,  crowned  with  liberty,  sceptred 
with  might  and  dominion,  enthroned  between  two 
great  oceans,  buttressed  by  religion,  morality,  law, 
education,  and  freedom,  regal  art  thou,  in  thy  shining 
garments  of  blue  and  gold  and  green  wrought  with 
threads  of  silver  ;  in  thy  millions  of  happy  homes  em- 


276  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

bowered  with  flowers ;  and  with  thy  tiara  of  a  thousand 
cities  flashing  back  the  splendors  of  the  Sun  of  Free- 
dom as  it  rises  to  noontide  glory  !  God  of  our  fathers, 
preserve  us,  "  lest  we  forget,  lest  we  forget "  thy 
hand  in  our  deliverance,  thy  mighty  hand  in  our 
prosperity ! 

Oh,  America,  favored  above  all  lands,  no  child  of 
infidelity  art  thou.  Forget  not  that  the  Puritan,  the 
Huguenot,  and  the  Covenanter  were  thy  master 
builders,  that  their  principles  and  religious  faith 
were  inwrought  in  thy  structure,  and  that  their 
sacred  dust  has  consecrated  thy  soil  to  civil  and 
religious  liberty  for  ever! 

Forget  not  the  men  who  built  thy  first  family 
altars,  hallowed  them  with  prayer,  cemented  them 
with  virtue,  baptized  them  with  blood,  and  laid  them 
so  deeply  in  the  Rock  of  Ages  that  they  have  with- 
stood the  storms  of  centuries,  and  constitute  thy  chief 
strength  and  thy  greatest  security  to-day. 

Forget  not  the  type  of  religion  which  dominated 
these  men ;  because  nations  are  the  product  of  relig- 
ious faith  ;  religion  shapes  and  moulds  their  political 
character  and  destiny. 

Where  is  the  wickedest  spot  on  the  map  of  the 
globe?  Is  it  in  Africa,  in  Asia,  in  the  South  Sea 
Islands?  No,  it  is  in  tlie  heart  of  nominally  Chris- 
tian Europe:  Turkey,  bloated  with  sensuality, 
drunken  with  the  blood  of  innocence,  the  double- 
dyed  murderer  of  mankind.      The  sensual  religion 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  277 

of  Mahomet  has  determined  her  national  character 
— a  character  "  as  far  below  that  of  her  neighbors — 
degraded  as  some  of  them  may  be — as  the  Dead  Sea 
is  below  the  level  of  the  Holy  Land."  In  just  so  far 
as  religious  faith  may  be  accountable  as  a  factor  en- 
tering into  the  formation  of  character,  the  Turk  is 
the  product  of  the  Koran. 

Nor  is  the  religion  that  dominates  the  Latin  races 
the  religion  that  America  needs ;  it  will  not  produce 
the  type  of  character  we  want.  The  Church  which 
proclaims  that  "  ignorance  is  the  mother  of  devotion," 
lias  never  emancipated  or  uplifted  a  nation,  and  it 
never  will.  We  need  the  religion  of  the  Puritan, 
the  religion  which  strikes  the  shackles  from  body, 
mind,  and  soul ;  the  religion  which  dominates  the 
Anglo-Saxon  race  and  has  made  it  what  it  is,  the 
strongest  race  of  the  world,  in  virility,  in  intellect,  in 
moral  force,  and  in  social  and  political  progress. 

"  By  their  fruits  ye  shall  know  them."  Compare 
nations  and  races  as  they  exist  to-day  and  note  the 
difference. 

There  is  a  certain  island — a  mere  dot  in  the  ocean 
— which  is  the  governing  center  of  one-fourtli  of  the 
world's  population ;  the  manufacturing  center  of 
civilization;  the  naval  center  of  fleets  on  every  sea; 
the  intellectual  center  of  the  present  age ;  the  relig- 
ious center  of  Christendom,  the  land  of  Victoria,  the 
j^eerless  Protestant  Queen ;  the  land  of  Christian 
churches,  schools,  scholars,  and  statesmen;  the  land 


278  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

of  Shaftesbury,  Bright,  and  Spurgeon ;  the  land  of 
Gladstone,  the  great  commoner,  who  towered  above 
men  as  a  giant  sequoia  above  trees — and  the  crash  of 
whose  mighty  fall  is  still  reverberating  throughout 
the  hushed  forests  of  the  world. 

I  refer  to  England,  little  England,  Protestant  Eng- 
land, mighty  England ! 

What  is  the  secret  of  her  national  integrity,  her 
commanding  influence,  and  her  dominant  power 
among  the  nations  of  Europe?  When  a  heathen 
prince  put  this  question  to  Victoria,  she  answered, 
"  the  Bible,"  and  gave  him  a  King  James  version  of 
the  Word  of  God. 

If  we  would  have  America  a  grander  England,  we 
will  make  it  our  patriotic  as  well  as  our  religious 
duty  to  give  this  same  Bible  to  every  foreigner 
coming  to  our  shores,  and  to  every  man,  woman, 
and  child  in  the  land. 

We  will  evangelize  and  keep  on  evangelizing.  We 
will  send  thousands  of  missionaries  into  the  field, 
gather  thousands  of  congregations,  gather  millions 
of  children  into  our  Sunday-schools.  The  Bible  and 
the  Bible  alone  is  our  strength  and  our  salvation  as 
individuals  and  as  a  nation. 

The  patriotism  of  the  Presbyterians  of  America 
has  always  been  characterized  by  deep  religious  feel- 
ing, and  they  have  found  it  almost  impossible  to 
secularize  it.  The  sacred  cause  to  which  their  pious 
ancestors  dedicated  this  country  pervades  their  politi- 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  279 

cal  and  religious  thinking.  They  think  of  America 
as  belonging  to  Christ,  and  of  their  national  flag 
wherein  it  represents  Christian  principles  and 
Christian  institutions  as  being  Christ's  flag.  They 
cannot  secularize  it  entirely,  for  its  folds  have 
been  reddened  by  the  best  blood  of  Christian 
heroes,  shed  in  the  holy  cause  of  civil  and  religious 
liberty. 

To-day  it  is  tipped  with  a  divine  flame  of  glory  as 
it  represents  the  humane  spirit  of  the  Gospel,  and 
goes  forth  on  the  mission  of  the  good  Samaritan.  If 
ever  the  Almighty  made  a  national  flag  the  symbol 
of  a  holy  cause,  he  is  doing  it  now.  May  it  never 
retreat  from  this  high  moral  plane,  and  may  the 
manifold  evils  which  now  find  shelter  under  its 
shadow  be  speedily  vanquished  by  the  moral  and 
spiritual  power  emanating  from  an  open  Bible,  a 
free  Gospel,  and  a  consecrated,  evangelizing  Christ- 
witnessing  Church. 

The  Presbyterian  Church  in  America  has  always 
been  an  evangelizing  church.  Its  earliest  ministers 
were  missionaries,  and  its  first  churches  were  many 
of  them  aided  by  stronger  churches  across  the  sea. 
Our  system  of  home  missions  is  built  up  on  the  prin- 
ciple that  the  strong  should  held  the  weak.  The 
First  Presbyterian  church  in  New  York  City  was 
nurtured  from  Scotland  one  hundred  and  eighty 
years  ago. 

There  are  some  exceptions,  but  generally,  our  first 


280  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

churches  in  every  American  city  have  been  aided  by 
our  Board  of  Home  Missions.  All  our  churches 
west  of  the  Mississippi  except  two  have  received  such 
aid.  Every  church  of  the  one  hundred  and  seven- 
teen in  the  State  of  Washington  is  a  child  of  the 
Home  Board. 

We  find  the  same  home  missionary  spirit  in  the 
earliest  minutes  of  the  General  Assembly  that  we 
find  in  the  minutes  of  to-day. 

The  first  Assembly  (1789)  appointed  a  committee 
on  "  Missionaries  to  be  sent  to  the  Frontier."  In  1798, 
just  one  hundred  years  ago,  the  Assembly  commis- 
sioned five  men  to  go  to  the  far  west  in  the  States  of 
New  York  and  Pennsylvania,  and  found  churches  in 
the  frontier  settlements  adjacent  to  lake  Erie.  Three 
of  this  number,  John  Close,  Asa  Hillyer,  and  Asa 
Dunham,  were  ordained  ministers,  and  two,  John 
Slemmons  and  John  B.  Patterson,  were  licentiates  of 
New  Castle  Presbytery.  They  traveled  on  foot  and 
on  horseback  ;  their  stipend  was  forty  dollars  per 
month,  and  it  was  raised  by  annual  contributions 
from  the  churches.  Their  mission  was  not  only  to 
preach  to  the  whites,  but  to  instruct  negroes  wherever 
found,  and  to  "  gospelize  "  the  Indians. 

Ninety  years  ago  our  church  numbered  354 
ministers  and  licentiates,  576  churches,  21,270 
communicants,  and  contributed  $4618  for  benevo- 
lent purposes.  It  also  employed  seventeen  mission- 
aries. 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  281 

Every  year  since  we  have  increased  the  number, 
and  to-day  we  have  about  1800  preaching  and  teach- 
ing, ministering  to  4000  churches  and  missions  every 
week,  and  scattere<l  all  over  the  continent  and  among 
all  tribes  and  peoples  from  Maine  to  Alaska  and  from 
Florida  to  California. 

In  the  last  thirty  years  we  have  contributed  sixteen 
millions  of  dollars  toward  the  evangelization  of  our 
land  through  our  Board  of  Home  Missions. 

It  is  owing  to  this  policy  of  liberal  seed-sowing 
that  we  now  have  7000  ministers,  7G00  churches, 
about  1,000,000  communicants,  and  over  1,000,000 
children  in  our  Sunday-schools.  Of  all  the  thous- 
ands of  our  churches  on  our  roll  to-day,  probably 
nine  out  of  every  ten  have  received  home  missionary 
aid. 

What  then  is  the  logical  relation  of  most  if  not 
all  of  our  churches  to  home  missions?  It  is  the 
relation  of  the  child  to  tlie  mother,  of  the  debtor  to 
the  creditor,  of  the  beneficiary  to  the  benefactor. 

By  every  sentiment  of  gratitude  we  are  all  bound 
to  the  support  of  this  great  agency  for  the  evangeliza- 
tion of  our  beloved  country. 

We  are  also  l)ound  to  it  by  sacred  obligations  to 
the  dead  ;  to  the  noble  army  of  missionaries  from 
Francis  Makemie,  the  founder  of  organized  Presby- 
terianism  in  1684,  down  to  Crocker  of  New  York, 
Barret  of  Wisconsin,  Dennen  of  California,  Matheson 
of  Minnesota,  Sibbet  of  Idaho,  and  Wilson  of  Colorado, 


282  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

who  died  at  the  front  in  the  service  of  the  Church 
during  the  past  year. 

What  worthy  tribute  can  we  pay  to  these  frontier 
soldiers  of  Christ,  this  heroic  vanguard  of  Presbyter- 
ianism  in  its  triumphant  march  of  conquest  from  the 
Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  these  pioneers  of  the  Church, 
who  plunged  into  the  wilderness  and  with  their  axes, 
their  lonely  camp-fires,  and  their  Bibles,  blazed  the 
way  of  civilization  and  Christianity  across  a  contin- 
ent! Where  is  the  historian  wdio  can  M^rite  their 
history,  the  mathematician  who  can  compute  the 
sum  of  their  spiritual  achievements,  the  tongue  of 
fire  that  can  do  justice  to  their  heroism  and  their 
fidelity  to  the  Master? 

Would  the  historian  find  the  secret  springs  of  our 
national  intelligence  and  morality,  would  the  poet 
find  inspiration  for  his  muse,  would  the  Christian 
find  examples  of  self-sacrifice,  would  the  patriotic 
orator  electrify  his  audience,  would  the  statesman 
find  his  peers,  let  them  camp  along  the  long  trail  of 
these  men  from  the  prison  of  Makemie  in  New  York 
to  the  prison  of  Jackson  in  Alaska ;  from  the  lonely 
horseman  of  the  18th  century  facing  westward  and 
slowly  climbing  the  Alleghenies,  to  the  horseman  of 
the  19th  century,  the  marvellous  missionary  horse- 
man in  buckskin  from  Idaho,  facing  eastward,  his 
heart  burning  with  patriotic  fervor  and  his  eye  fixed 
on  the  capital  of  the  nation  three  thousand  miles 
away.     The  world  will  yet  ring  with  the  wonderful 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  283 

story  of  his  brave  ride  for  four  stars  in  "  Old  Glory." 
Talk  not  to  me  of  Sheridan's  ride  or  of  the  gallop  of 
Paul  Revere !  Speed  away,  Whitman,  speed  away  ! 
Onward,  right  onward,  like  a  flash  of  light  through 
a  thousand  miles  of  barbaric  night!  S2:)eed  away. 
Whitman,  speed  away !  nor  slacken  thy  pace,  for  an 
empire  is  ours  if  thou  winnest  the  race!  Speed 
away,  Whitman,  speed  away  !  Ah,  where  are  the 
plumed  knights  of  more  courage,  wdiere  the  Crusaders 
who  went  forth  in  holier  cause !  Where  is  the  moun- 
tain or  valley  upon  which  home  missionaries  have 
not  planted  the  standard  of  the  Cross  and  consecrated 
them  as  holy  places  by  their  lonely  graves  ?  Imper- 
ishably  dear  to  us  should  be  not  only  the  cause 
but  the  country  for  which  they  gave  their  lives. 
Do  we  talk  of  dedicating  America  to  Christ?  it  is 
already  dedicated. 

To  use  the  language  of  Abraham  Lincoln  when  he 
broke  forth  in  the  resistless  eloquence  of  woe  over  the 
graves  of  Gettysburg,  "  We  cannot  dedicate,  we  cannot 
consecrate,  we  cannot  hallow  this  ground.  The  brave 
men,  living  and  dead,  who  struggled  here,  have  con- 
secrated it  far  above  our  power  to  add  or  detract.  It 
is  for  us,  the  living,  rather  to  be  dedicated  here  to  their 
unfinished  work." 

We  have  obligations  also  to  our  hundreds  of  living 
missionaries.  They  are  our  color-bearers  at  the  front. 
In  four  thousand  centers  there  they  have  planted  our 
standards  and  are  holding  their  ground.    The  frontier 


284  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

is  not  determined  by  geographical  lines;  it  is  wher- 
ever sin  is  strongest  and  spiritual  destitution  is  great- 
est. It  is  as  truly  in  New  York  City  as  in  Alaska ; 
in  the  mountains  of  North  Carolina  as  in  the  moun- 
tains of  Utah.  There  is  one  peculiar  thing  about  the 
home  missionary.  Wherever  3^ou  find  him,  whether 
in  the  crowded  city,  the  Mexican  Pueblo,  the  Indian 
village,  or  the  Klondyke  mining  camp,  he  is  the 
unique  man  of  the  community.  Unlike  the  lawyer, 
the  doctor,  the  merchant,  and  the  miner,  he  is  not 
there  on  a  private  enterprise,  not  there  to  make 
money.  His  mission  is  nobler.  He  is  there  as  an 
ambassador  of  Christ,  and  as  the  representative  of  a 
great  Church. 

Often  he  finds  the  whole  communit}'^  against  him. 
Panoplied  by  prayer,  and  armed  only  with  the  sword 
of  the  Spirit,  he  enters  the  strongholds  of  Satan, 
penetrates  saloons,  brothels,  and  gambling  hells,  and 
fearlessly  attacks  intemperance,  profanity,  prostitu- 
tion, lawlessness,  infidelity,  and  vice  in  its  most 
hideous  and  gigantic  forms. 

By  the  grace  of  God  he  wins,  wins  every  time. 
Patiently  he  preaches  the  Gospel,  sows  the  germs  of 
law,  order,  morals,  culture,  and  religion,  and  gradu- 
ally transforms  little  hells  of  humanity  into  law- 
abiding,  God-worshipping,  Christian  communities. 

What  shall  we  do  with  our  fellow-soldiers  who  are 
thus  bravely  doing  this  work  ?  Shall  we  cut  off  their 
supplies  and  leave  them  to  perish — shall  we  call  a 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  285 

halt  and  order  them  to  retreat  ?  God  forbid  !  Treas- 
ure we  have  in  uncounted  millions. 

Finally,  we  are  bound  to  the  support  of  this  cause 
by  most  solemn  obligations  to  our  Lord  and  Master. 
It  is  not  an  optional  matter  wath  us  to  do  or  not  to 
do.  It  is  in  the  line  of  obedience  to  his  last  com- 
mand, "  Go  ye  into  all  the  world,  and  preach  the 
gospel  to  every  creature."     Mark  16  :  15. 

This  command  was  enforced  by  the  thunders  of 
Sinai,  the  agony  of  Gethsemane,  the  imperative  and 
glorious  message  of  Calvary,  and  all  the  obligations 
of  the  redeemed  to  their  Redeemer. 

At  the  basis  of  this  command  lies  the  value  of 
the  human  soul — the  lost  soul.  No  man  can  appraise 
it,  for  no  man  knows  its  value.  Only  its  Maker  can 
set  a  true  value  upon  it,  and  by  faith  we  must  take  it 
at  his  appraisement.  Christ  said  it  was  worth  more 
than  the  whole  world,  and  God  said  it  was  worth 
Calvary. 

The  inspiration  to  all  evangelistic  w^ork  lies  in  just 
three  things,  viz. :  faith,  gratitude,  and  the  value  of 
the  soul. 

OUR    FIELD. 

The  field  we  have  to  evangelize  affords  an  interest- 
ing study.  We  now  number  seventy-five  millions  of 
people,  one-half  of  which  number  are  of  foreign 
parentage  or  foreign  born. 

One-tenth  of  our  population,  or  over  seven  millions, 
have  come  to  us  in  the  last  twenty  years.     And  still 


286  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

they  come.  The  vanguard  will  be  followed  by  the 
army,  the  surf  by  the,  mountainous  swellings  of  the 
ocean ! 

In  some  of  our  large  cities  the  population  is  now 
less  than  one-third  native  American.  They  are 
foreign  cities  including  American  colonies  on  Amer- 
ican soil.  New  York  City's  1,800,000  shows  over  a 
million  citizens  of  foreign  parentage  or  foreign 
born. 

Analyze  the  nationalities  of  New  York  or  Chicago 
and  tell  me  what  kind  of  an  American  is  coming  out 
of  this  admixture  of  blood.  German,  Irish,  Bohemian, 
Polish,  Swedish,  Danish,  Norwegian,  French,  Welsh, 
Belgian,  Russian,  Dutch,  Hawaiian,  Spanish,  Syrian, 
Swiss,  Japanese,  Italian,  African,  Greek,  Hungarian, 
Scotch,  Chinese,  Indian,  and  Hebrew. 

In  view  of  the  preponderance  of  foreigners  we  see 
that  the  American  of  to-day  is  not  the  descendant  of 
the  Puritan,  the  Cavalier,  the  Huguenot,  the  Cove- 
nanter, or  even  of  revolutionary  ancestors.  The  sons 
and  daughters  of  the  Revolution  are  now  in  a  hope- 
less minority — so  rare  as  to  be  pointed  out  as  curious 
animals  in  our  great  national  menagerie,  and  tagged 
with  a  button  of  yellow  and  blue  to  distinguish  their 
species. 

We  are  told  that  in  India  there  are  one  hundred 
Indias,  one  hundred  dialects,  and  one  hundred  phases 
of  religion  with  which  the  missionary  has  to  contend. 
Are  we  coming  to  that  in  this  country  ?    In  New  York 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  287 

city  there  are  numerous  foreign  colonies  where  one 
may  see  here  and  there  the  curious  sign  "  English 
spoken  here."  That  would  not  be  strange  in  Paris 
or  Berlin,  but  there  is  something  of  a  shock  in  it  when 
seen  in  New  York. 

Are  we  to  have  a  hundred  Italias,  Germanias  and 
Scandinavias  here  ?  No,  the  English  language  must 
break  up  these  solidarities,  education  must  let  in  the 
light,  and  the  Gospel  must  evangelize  them.  We 
must  attack  them  with  the  missionary,  the  colporteur, 
the  Bible  visitor,  the  tract-distributor,  the  college  set- 
tlement, the  reading-room,  the  coffee-house,  the  kin- 
dergarten, and  the  Sunday-school. 

We  are  told  that  with  this  foreign  invasion  has 
come  in  a  great  tide  of  drunkenness,  and  that  the 
rum  power  has  grown  to  alarming  proportions.  We 
have  165,000  public  schools,  and  they  cost  us  $140,- 
000,000  per  annum.  We  have  also  215,000  saloons, 
and  our  drink  bill  is  $1,000,000,000  per  annum.  Ah, 
alcohol  is  our  domestic  Weyler !  the  drunkard,  the 
widow,  and  the  orphan  are  our  "  reconcentrados ;" 
ghastly  is  the  ruin  wrought,  pitiful  the  poverty  and 
hunger,  holy  is  the  war-cr}'-,  "  The  saloon  must  go !" 

AVill  it  ever  go  ?  It  certainly  will  if  we  evangelize, 
if  Christian  faith  survives,  if  the  Gospel  has  free 
course,  and  if  the  Church  unites  to  preach,  pray,  and 
vote  it  out  of  existence  in  the  name  of  the  Lord.  God 
is  not  dead,  and  his  name  is  not  withdrawn  from  the 
use  of  his  people.     It  is  doing  wonders  every  day. 


288  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

Before  his  name  many  an  ironclad  Philistine  stronger 
than  Goliath  of  Gath  has  fallen  and  will  fall. 

But,  watchman,  what  of  the  night ;  the  dark  night 
of  ignorance,  superstition,  and  sin  among  these  great 
foreign  masses ;  among  our  40,000  Alaskans,  our 
150,000  Mexicans,  our  200,000  Mormons,  our  250,000 
Indians,  our  2,000,000  mountain  whites,  and  our 
8,000,000  negroes?  The  morning  is  dawning,  the 
light  is  penetrating  the  darkness,  Christianity  and 
education  are  doing  their  work,  spiritual  and  intel- 
lectual lighthouses  are  being  distributed  over  the 
continent  as  thickly  as  stars  on  the  field  of  night, 
and  slowly  but  surely  in  the  rising  of  the  Sun  of 
Righteousness,  the  shadows  will  flee  away. 

As  to  foreign  immigration,  we  should  take  the 
broadest  view  of  it  possible.  Our  Constitution  makes 
America  "  the  parliament  of  man,  the  federation  of 
the  world."  This  is  manifest  destiny.  Unlike  Pales- 
tine, our  country  has  not  been  set  apart  for  a  family 
of  one  blood — a  close  corporation.  It  was  intended 
to  be  the  seat  of  a  great  nation  gathered  out  of  all 
kindreds  and  peoples,  unified  by  the  love  of  certain 
principles,  and,  like  the  Church  of  Christ,  a  visible 
demonstration  of  the  kinship  of  mankind. 

We  look  on  in  wonder  at  the  absorbing  power  of 
our  Republic.  It  is  almost  miraculous.  From  the 
beginning  it  has  been,  like  the  Church,  receiving 
Parthians,  Medes,  and  Elamites.  Or  we  may  liken  it 
to  the  ocean  which    receives   into   its   bosom  rivers 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  289 

white,  black,  yellow,  and  red,  impregnated  with  the 
minerals,  soils,  and  refuse  of  all  lands,  and,  like  the 
ocean,  it  seems  to  transform  them  into  its  own  char- 
acter. 

Foreign  immigration  is  no  new  thing.  It  has 
always  been  a  feeder  to  our  national  life.  The  names 
of  foreign-born  patriots  are  graven  with  a  pen  of  iron 
in  our  Declaration  of  Independence.  It  is  not  birth 
but  principle  that  makes  the  American.  We  have 
seen  that  the  American  of  to-day  is  a  composite  man, 
slowly  evolving  from  many  nationalities.  It  is  the 
province  of  the  Church  and  State  to  educate  this 
man.  The  State  must  mould  him  politically,  and 
the  Church  must  transform  him  morally  and  spirit- 
ually. 

Raw  material  is  cheap,  it  is  manufacturing  that 
costs.  Two  hundred  years  ago  the  Dutch  acquired 
title  to  Manhattan  Island  for  twenty-four  dollars — 
all  the  barren  soil  was  worth.  To-day  it  supports  the 
great  American  metropolis,  pinnacled  with  churches, 
hospitals,  asylums,  schools,  public  buildings,  palaces, 
marts  of  trade,  and  is  worth  one  hundred  millions 
for  every  single  dollar  of  its  original  cost. 

It  is  not  what  the  raw  citizen  is,  but  what  we  put  into 
him,  what  we  may  make  out  of  him,  that  constitutes 
his  real  value.  This  whole  subject  resolves  itself  into 
what  the  Gospel  can  do  for  man,  and  what  God  can 
do  with  foreign  clay. 

Looking  back  into  history  we  see  that  he  once  took 

19 


290  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

a  piece  of  Hebrew  clay  and  made  the  apostle  Paul. 
Of  French  clay  he  made  a  Calvin,  of  Italian  clay  a 
Savonarola,  of  German  clay  a  Luther,  of  Scotch  clay 
a  Knox,  of  Bohemian  clay  he  made  a  Huss,  and  of 
British  clay  he  made  that  fine  old  presbyterian  bishop 
known  as  St.  Patrick,  whom  the  Irish  have  adopted 
as  their  patron  saint. 

Not  long  since  I  sat  on  a  platform  at  the  Carlisle 
Indian  School,  and  looked  down  upon  seven  hundred 
bright  young  Indian  faces  illumined  by  the  light  of 
a  new  nature  born  within  them,  under  Captain  Pratt's 
splendid  system  of  industrial  and  Christian  training. 

It  will  only  take  about  a  generation  of  such  train- 
ing to  transform  barbarism  into  Christianity. 

Upon  that  platform  were'  two  white  men,  of 
foreign-born  parentage,  now  Christian  governors. 
Thirt3"-five  years  ago  they  were  homeless  orphans, 
miserable  street  gamins  wallowing  in  the  slums  of 
New  York  City. 

This  is  what  religion  and  education  will  do  for  the 
commonest  kind  of  clay  and  the  rawest  kind  of 
material  in  America !  Some  there  are  who  take  a 
j)essimistic  view  of  our  future,  they  predict  moral 
degenerac}^  and  political  disintegration,  and  assert 
that  our  life  forces  cannot  permeate,  cannot  unify, 
cannot  make  a  living  organism  out  of  so  many 
diverse  elements  in  our  body  politic.  This  is  true  if 
we  leave  God  and  the  Gospel  out  of  the  question. 
But  who  can  measure  the  actual  leavening  influence 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  291 

of  tlic  Gospel  upon  any  nation.  We  cannot  deter- 
mine it  by  ordinary  standards  of  morality,  or  by  the 
number  of  our  schools,  churches,  and  communi- 
cants. Some  great  test  of  the  national  conscience  is 
necessary.  Such  a  test  is  now  being  made,  and  I 
doubt  if  the  world  has  ever  seen  such  a  magnificent 
spectacle;  a  spectacle  in  which  seventy-five  millions 
of  people,  moved  by  one  mighty  impulse,  have  fallen 
into  line,  and  are  all  keeping  step  and  time,  "the 
brogan  with  the  patent  leather,  the  kid  slipper  with 
the  wooden  shoe  " — all  keeping  time  not  only  to  the 
music  of  the  "Star-Spangled  Banner,"  but  to  the 
drum-beat  of  the  Christian  conscience,  yes  to  the 
drum-beat  of  the  Gospel  of  the  Son  of  God,  as 
sounded  forth  by  the  brave  old  drummer  who 
marched  down  the  Damascus  road  in  Palestine,  1800 
years  ago ! 

Where  in  all  history  has  a  nation  gone  to  war,  not 
in  self-defence  and  not  for  spoils,  but  for  sweet 
humanity's  sake?  Where  in  history  has  a  powerful 
nation  been  willing  to  sacrifice  the  blood  of  its  best 
sons  for  downtrodden  and  oppressed  widows  and 
orphans,  aliens  in  language  and  race? 

This  movement  marks  a  distinct  era  in  the  history 
of  mankind  :  an  era  which  proclaims  the  supremacy 
of  humanity  over  tyrants,  of  God  over  governments, 
of  conscience  over  selfishness,  and  of  morals  over  all 
international  laws. 

Here   then   is   one  test  of  our  national  integrity, 


292  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

and  of  the  power  of  the  Gospel  over  our  national 
conscience.  But  we  have  seen  another  almost  as 
remarkable,  and  that  was  the  moral  courage,  the 
self-restraint,  the  dominion  of  principle  over  passion, 
as  displayed  by  our  country  in  its  suspension  of 
judgment  for  sixty  long  days  after  the  foul  assassina- 
tion of  two  hundred  and  fifty  of  her  sons  in  a  Spanish 
harbor,  while  in  the  meantime  a  Spanish  warship  rode 
as  peacefully  and  securely  at  her  anchorage  in  New 
York  Bay  as  if  she  had  been  at  Cadiz ! 

I  have  somewhere  seen  a  great  painting  of  a 
tawny  African  lion,  lithe,  powerful,  trembling  with 
anger,  every  muscle  knotted,  and  ready  to  spring. 
By  its  side  was  a  child  with  a  fearless  eye  and  an 
uplifted  hand  holding  the  infuriated  monarch  of  the 
forest  under  complete  control. 

That  lion  illustrates  the  temper  of  the  American 
people  on  the  fifteenth  day  of  February,  1898,  when 
our  whole  land  was  in  sackcloth  for  its  dead;  and  in 
the  child  holding  the  lion  in  check  we  may  see  reso- 
lute, God-fearing  William  McKinley ! 

If  the  restraint  of  angry  passion  is  a  sign  of 
Christian  virtue  in  the  individual,  it  is  equally  such 
when  seen  in  a  nation.  Is  not  this,  too,  another  test 
and  evidence  of  the  power  of  the  Gospel  and  of  its 
leavening  influence  upon  our  national  character? 
Let  us  not  despair,  the  Gospel  is  all-powerful.  It  has 
lifted  nations  from  barbarism,  and  it  will  lift  this  one 
to  millennial  glory.     Statesmen  the  world  over  pre- 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  293 

diet  our  glowing  future.  Matthew  Arnold  with  all 
his  pr^'udices  writes,  "  America  holds  the  future  of 
the  world."  William  E.  Gladstone  says,  "  America 
has  the  basis  of  the  grandest  empire  ever  built  by 
man  :  at  the  end  of  the  20th  century  her  population 
will  be  six  hundred  millions." 

I  have  spoken  little  of  the  extent  of  our  domain 
upon  which  the  untold  millions  of  coming  centuries 
are  yet  to  dwell. 

The  East  we  are  supposed  to  know,  but  what  about 
the  grand  Eldorado,  the  eight  great  empires  as  large 
as  Spain  lying  beyond  the  Mississippi  ? 

The  great  West !  Seven  great  trunk  lines  of  rail- 
w'ay  and  their  branches  now  gridiron  its  surface, 
connecting  the  East  with  the  semi-tropical  garden  of 
fruit  and  flowers  on  our  sunset  coast,  and  with  white- 
winged  fleets  from  China  and  Japan.  Over  these 
lines  a  tide  of  imigration  is  constantly  rolling  west- 
ward and  opening  up  wonderful  fields  of  agricultural 
and  mineral  wealth. 

That  great  buffalo  pasture  twelve  hundred  miles 
long  and  five  hundred  wide,  lying  along  the  eastern 
lap  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  extending  from  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico  on  the  South  to  Manitoba  on  the 
North — a  region  in  which  I  hunted  with  the  wild 
Indian  in  my  boyhood — is  now  dotted  over  with  the 
cottage  homes,  villages,  and  cities  of  the  dominant 
race. 

It  is  no  longer  a  synonym  for  Indians  and  wild 


294  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

beasts,  for  its  desert  stretches  are  now  populous  and 
clad  in  Eastern  forms  of  civilization.  The  locomotive 
has  outstripped  the  woodsman  with  his  axe  and  rifle, 
and  has  become  the  fleet-footed  pioneer. 

The  Rocky  Mountains  which  in  Daniel  Webster's 
day  were  thought  to  be  the  natural  and  insur- 
mountable limits  of  empire ;  those  hoary  sentinels 
of  the  ages  whose  forms  are  wrapped  in  mantles  of 
eternal  snow,  and  whose  majestic  heads  tower  among 
the  stars,  now  bend  their  proud  necks  beneath  the 
feet  of  man  the  conqueror !  Aye,  even  the  locomo- 
tive has  climbed  their  lofty  summits,  and  high  over 
all  it  parts  the  clouds  of  heaven  in  its  thundering 
course,  breaking  aerial  silences — heretofore  unbroken 
save  by  the  voice  of  the  storm  king  in  his  fur}'' — and 
wakening  the  slumbering  valleys  beneath  to  the 
grand  coming  of  a  nation  in  its  march  to  the  western 
sea. 

I  believe  in  God  and  in  his  great  purpose  concerning 
this  land.  I  believe  in  Christ  and  in  the  power  of 
his  Gospel  to  redeem  it  from  all  its  sins.  I  believe 
in  the  principles  and  doctrines  of  the  Reformation 
and  their  final  supremacy.  And  I  believe  in  our 
godly  foundation-builders  of  Church  and  State,  and 
in  the  final  achievement  and  Christian  capstone  of 
the  structure  they  commenced. 

As  we  look  back  over  but  one  intervening  century 
we  see  them  at  their  family  altars,  and  in  the  Church, 
the  Presbytery,  and  the  General  Assembly.     Again 


ANNIVERSAEY  ADDRESSES.  295 

we  have  glimpses  of  them  in  Continental  uniforms 
at  Lexington,  Bunker  Hill,  Valley  Forge,  Trenton, 
and  Yorktown. 

Foundation-builders  were  they,  and  much  of  their 
work  was  done  in  want  and  pain,  in  poverty  and 
woe,  in  storm  and  cloud  and  battle.  Through  blind- 
ness they  saw  to  some  extent — but,  oh,  how  limited — 
the  glory  of  our  day.  Could  they  have  seen  the 
present  superstructure,  the  world's  great  temple  of 
civil  and  religious  liberty,  how  it  would  have  nerved 
their  hearts  for  battle ! 

From  this  harvest  of  a  thousand-fold  the  fruit  of 
their  seed-sowing,  let  us,  their  children,  take  heart. 
Let  us  sow  the  seed  of  the  Gospel,  multiply  our  seed- 
sowers,  do  our  work  faithfully,  in  our  day  and  gener- 
ation ;  believe  in  the  leavening,  transforming,  and 
all-conquering  power  of  the  Word  of  God ;  and  look 
forward  confidently  and  enthusiastically  to  the  glory 
of  a  coming  day  when  this  broad  land  shall  be  as  a 
field  of  waving  palms,  a  Christian  nation  such  as  the 
world  has  never  seen,  the  pride  of  Mount  Zion  and 
the  joy  of  the  whole  earth. 

"Zion  rise,   thy  cords  to  lengthen, 
Hear  the  Master's  rallying  call ! 
Forward!  all  thy  stakes  to  strengthen, 
Plant  thy  banners  over  all  ! 
"Cast  thy  bread  upon  the  waters, 
Sow  thy  seed  o'er  all  the  sod, 
By  the  hands  of  sons  and  daughters 
Reap  this  continent  for  God!" 


THE  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCHES  AND 
FOREIGN   MISSIONS. 


BY 

Mr.   ROBERT  E.  SPEER. 


THE  PRESBYTERIAN. CHURCHES  AND 
FOREIGN  MISSIONS. 


BY 

Mr.  ROBERT  E.  SPEER. 


And  now,  at  last,  at  the  close  of  this  splendid  day, 
we  come  to  this  final  theme,  "  The  Presbyterian 
Churches  and  Foreign  Missions."  A  modest  theme 
doubtless  it  appears  to  some,  but  perhaps  if  I  should 
re})lirase  it,  "  The  Presbyterian  Churches  and  Their 
Relation  to  the  Christian  Conquest  of  the  World," 
we  should  see  more  clearly  its  splendor  and  its 
solemnity.  After  all,  this  is  the  vital  issue ;  here  at 
last,  at  this  bar,  must  every  religion,  every  form  of 
religious  conviction,  stand  to  be  judged.  Alexander 
Henderson  and  the  Westminster  Confession  are  not 
the  final  tests  of  the  Presbyterian  Churches.  As  our 
Master  has  said,  it  is  not  by  clear  perception,  nor  by 
crisp  statement  of  doctrine,  nor  by  forms  of  worship 
and  of  ritual,  that  religion  is  to  be  judged  or  dis- 
cipleship  to  be  tested ;  but  by  the  warmth  of  its 
brotherhood  and  the  tenderness  of  its  love.  "By 
this  "  said  he,  "  shall  all  men  know  that  ye  are  my 
disciples,  if  ye  have  love  one  for  another."     And  he 

299 


300  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

himself  declared  that  on  that  wondrous  day  in 
which  all  the  nations  and  peoples  and  beliefs  of  the 
earth  shall  stand  before  his  throne,  the  ultimate  test 
of  all  principles  of  human  conduct,  the  ultimate  test 
of  all  forms  of  worship'  and  faith,  will  be  found,  not 
in  their  power  to  develop  individual  character,  nor 
in  their  ability  to  form  and  consist  with  satisfactory 
doctrinal  symbols,  but  in  their  power  to  persuade 
men  to  lives  of  self-forgetful  service  of  their  kind. 
"  When  the  Son  of  Man  shall  come  in  his  glory,  and 
all  the  holy  angels  with  him,  then  shall  he  sit  upon 
the  throne  of  his  glory :  And  before  him  .shall  be 
gathered  all  nations ;  and  he  shall  separate  them  one 
from  another,  as  a  shepherd  divideth  his  sheep  from 
the  goats :  And  he  shall  set  the  sheep  on  his  right 
hand,  but  the  goats  on  the  left.  Then  shall  the  King 
say  to  them  on  his  right  hand,  Come,  ye  blessed  of 
my  Father,  inherit  the  kingdom  prepared  for  you 
from  the  foundation  of  the  world :  For  I  was  an 
hungred,  and  ye  gave  me  meat :  I  was  thirsty,  and 
ye  gave  me  drink :  I  was  a  stranger,  and  ye  took  me 
in:  Naked,  and  ye  clothed  me:  I  was  sick,  and  ye 
visited  me:  I  was  in  prison,  and  ye  came  unto  me." 
The  Church  of  Christ  was  not  established  by  him 
as  a  society  for  personal  spiritual  culture,  nor  for  the 
development  of  personal  character  and  refinement  as 
ends  in  themselves,  nor  for  the  satisfaction  of  those 
demands  of  the  intellectual  life  which  crave  doctrinal 
explication  of  the  mysteries  of  the  unseen  or  of  the 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  ,301 

divine  life  that  has  been  manifested  in  history. 
Christ's  Church  came  like  Christ — not  to  be  minis- 
tered unto,  but  to  minister,  and  to  give  her  life  a 
ransom  for  many ;  and  by  its  fruits  in  unselfish  ser- 
vice and  self-forgetful  helpfulness  must  every  branch 
of  that  Church  be  judged. 

Nor  are  the  Presbyterian  Churches  submitted  to 
their  final  test  by  any  appraisement  of  their  relations 
to  education,  or  to  the  young,  or  to  home  missions,  or 
to  the  people.  Such  tests  are  preliminary,  not  ulti- 
mate. If  the  vision,  the  mission,  the  message  of 
the  Presbyterian  Churches  were  provincial  or  ethnic, 
such  testings  might  suffice;  but  against  just  this 
conception  of  a  local  design  and  a  limited  destiny 
we  and  our  fathers  have  ever  made  protest  with 
strenuousness ;  and  have  ever  claimed  for  our  faith 
those  characteristics  of  universality  without  which 
M'c  should  be  obliged  to  abandon  also  the  contention 
that  it  was  divine. 

The  Presbyterian  Churches,  therefore,  have  ever 
recognized  the  validity  and  the  solemnity  of  this  test 
to  which  we  are  now  subjecting  them.  They  have 
affirmed,  as  no  other  Churches  have  done,  the  world's 
utter  need  of  tlie  gospel,  the  unique  sufficiency  of 
Christianity,  and  the  solitary  lordship  and  sovereignty 
of  Christ.  Turning  toward  the  cross,  their  members 
have  ever  cried — 

"Thou,  O  Christ,   art  all  we  want;" 


302  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

and  turning  toward  the  weary  world,  have  added, 

"And  thou,  0  Christ,  art  all  they  rvant." 

We  have  never  been  so  much  wiser  than  our  Master 
as  not  to  be  wilUng  to  affirm  with  utter  loyalty  to  their 
narrowness  his  own  words,  "  I  am  the  way  and  the 
truth  and  the  life;  no  man  cometh  unto  the  Father 
but  by  me."  And  we  have  never  dared  to  be  so  un- 
true to  the  w^orld's  own  life  as  to  proclaim  any  broader 
message  than  Simon  Peter's,  "  There  is  none  other 
name  under  heaven,  given  among  men,  w^hereby  we 
must  be  saved."  There  is  a  King,  one  Jesus,  and  he 
is  the  only  King. 

Holding  these  deep  convictions,  the  Presbyterian 
Churches  have  never  been  intimidated  by  charges  of 
intolerance  or  illiberality.  Fidelity  to  the  truth  of 
God  and  to  the  deepest  needs  of  our  sin-smitten 
humanity  can  never  be  bigotry.  And  we  have  never 
been  ashamed  in  this  matter  to  stand  with  him  in 
whom  alone  God  came  to  reconcile  the  world  to  him- 
self, and  whose  attitude,  as  Horace  Bushnell  has 
pointed  out,  "  is  charity,  not  liberality ;  and  the  two 
are  as  wide  apart  in  their  practical  implications  as 
adhering  to  all  truth  and  being  loose  in  all.  Charity 
holds  fast  the  minutest  atoms  of  truth  as  being  precious 
and  divine,  offended  by  even  so  much  as  a  thought 
of  laxity.  Liberality  loosens  the  terms  of  truth  ;  per- 
mitting easily  and  with  careless  magnanimity  varia- 
tions from  it ;  consenting,  as  it  were,  in  its  own  sove- 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  303 

reign ty  to  overlook  or  allow  them ;  and  subsiding 
thus  ere  long  into  a  licentious  indifference  to  all 
truth  and  a  general  defect  of  responsibility  in  regard 
to  it.  Charity  extends  allowance  to  men ;  liberality, 
to  falsities  themselves.  Charity  takes  the  truth  to  be 
sacred  and  immovable ;  liberality  allows  it  to  be 
marred  and  maimed  at  pleasure.  How  different  the 
manner  of  Jesus  in  this  respect  from  that  unreverent, 
feeble  laxity  that  lets  the  errors  be  as  good  as  the 
truths,  and  takes  it  for  a  sign  of  intellectual  eminence 
that  one  can  be  floated  comfortably  in  the  abysses  of 
liberalism." 

Our  Churches  have  never  been  willing  to  buy  a 
cheap  reputation  for  liberalism,  or  to  curry  favor 
with  those  with  whom  indifference  and  uncertainty 
are  the  synonyms  of  enlightenment,  at  the  price  of 
treason  to  the  world's  Life  and  the  world's  Redeemer. 

Nor  has  the  revival  of  the  study  of  comparative 
religions,  with  its  tendency  to  pare  down  the  unique- 
ness and  compromise  the  supremacy  of  Christi- 
anity, diverted  the  great  Churches  to  which  we  be- 
long from  their  conviction  that  Christ  alone  can  save 
men ;  that  out  of  him  men  "  are  without  hope  and 
without  God  in  the  world  ;"  and  that  "  at  the  revela- 
tion of  the  Lord  Jesus  from  heaven,  with  the  angels 
of  his  power  in  flaming  fire,  he  will  render  vengeance 
to  them  that  know  not  God,  and  to  them  that  obey 
not  the  gospel  of  our  Lord  Jesus,"  however  smooth 
the  w'ords  or  soft  the  poetry  of  their  superstitions. 


304  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

Once  for  all  for  us  the  final  judgment  in  the  matter 
of  comparative  religion  was  passed  at  Bethlehem  and 
on  Calvary.  All  the  non-Christian  religions  except 
Mohammedanism  were  here  before  Christ  came.  God 
looked  down  upon  them  all  and  judged  them  insuf- 
ficient ;  and  by  sending  his  Son  to  the  best  of  them 
and  condemning  that,  passed  his  final  and  conclusive 
judgment  upon  all.  The  incarnation  closes  the  issue 
of  comparative  religion.  Calvary  was  a  colossal 
blunder,  or  it  was  the  necessary  fruit  of  God's  convic- 
tion that  Confucianism,  Taoism,  Buddhism,  Shinto- 
ism,  Parsiism,  Judaism,  Shamanism,  Fetichism,  had 
been  weighed  in  the  balance  and  been  found  wanting. 
Holding  these  opinions,  consider  for  a  moment  the 
moral  loathsomeness  of  the  position  of  the  Presby- 
terian Churches  if  they  had  not  been  missionary. 
Could  more  hideous  enormity  of  guilt  be  conceived 
than  that  of  Churches  which  believe  that  they  stand 
in  the  midst  of  a  lost  world,  holding  in  their  posses- 
sion a  gospel  of  adequate  life,  who  hear  in  their  ears 
for  ever  the  voice  of  their  Risen  Lord  saying :  "  Go 
ye  into  all  the  world  and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every 
creature,"  and  the  wail  of  a  dying  world  stumbling 
blindfold  around  the  great  altar-stairs  of  God,  and 
who  yet  go  their  way,  eat,  drink,  and  make  merry, 
with  no  regard  for  the  commanding  Master,  and  no 
pity  for  his  weary  world  ?  I  saj^  solemnly  that  the 
anti-missionary  Presbyterian  church,  or  the  anti- 
missionary   member   of    our   Church,   or,   even   the 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  305 

church  or  church-member  who  is  not  opposed,  but 
only  indifferent  to  the  work  of  the  world's  evangeli- 
zation, is  either  disloyal  to  the  fundamental  convic- 
tions of  our  Churches — aye,  to  the  very  foundations 
on  which  Christianity  itself  rests ;  or  else,  if  yielding 
mental  assent  to  these  convictions,  is  an  object  of 
moral  baseness  beyond  our  power  to  describe,  as  also 
beyond  our  capacity  to  condemn.  To  believe  that  a 
man  is  dying,  to  stand  by  his  bedside  with  adequate 
remedy,  to  be  enjoined  by  acknowledged  obligation 
to  offer  the  remedy,  and  to  refuse  or  to  neglect,  what 
can  be  imagined  more  awful,  more  repellant,  more 
antagonistic  to  the  spirit  of  a  just  and  generous  God 
than  this? 

The  full  force  of  these  awful  considerations  has 
ever  been  felt  by  our  Church.  She  has  recognized 
from  the  beginning  that  she  must  be  a  missionary 
Church,  or  forfeit  alike  her  prerogatives,  her  self-re- 
spect, and  the  blessing  of  God.  In  the  General  As- 
sembly of  1838  she  declared,  in  the  first  aimual 
report  of  her  Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  "  In  the 
providence  of  God  and  by  his  blessing,  no  branch  of 
the  Church  of  Christ  has  an  organization  so  ])erfect 
to  become  a  missionary  coinmunity  as  that  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States  of  America." 
Two  years  later  a  solemn  resolution  was  adopted, 
prescribing  a  certain  course  of  activity,  to  the  end,  as 
was  specified,  "  That  our  whole  Church  in  its  organ- 
ized form  may  become  what  she  ought  to  be,  a  mis- 


306  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

sionary  Church ;  and  that  all  other  churches  of  other 
denominations  may  become  animated  with  a  true 
missionary  spirit,  and  do  their  part  in  accomplishing 
the  great  work  to  which  the  Head  of  the  Church  is 
now  summoning  his  people,  the  work  of  enlightening, 
reforming,  and  converting  the  world,  that  he  may 
reign  over  all  nations  in  the  fulness  of  his  grace  and 
glory."  Seven  years  later,  on  the  22d  of  May,  the 
General  Assembly  listened  and  gave  assent  to  these 
words  of  James  W.  Alexander :  "  Those  who  are  gone 
admitted  the  claim  of  Christ's  cause  on  us  as  a 
Church.  One  of  them,  especially,  has  left  us  his  tes- 
timony. Consider,  reverend  brethren,  these  words, 
of  date  March  4, 1831,  words  suggested  to  this  court 
of  Jesus  Christ,  by  Dr.  Rice :  '  In  the  judgment  of 
this  General  Assembly,  one  of  the  principal  objects 
of  the  institution  of  the  Church  by  Jesus  Christ  was, 
not  so  much  the  salvation  of  individual  Christians — 
for,  whosoever  believeth  shall  be  saved — as  the  com- 
munication of  the  blessing  of  the  Gospel  to  the  desti- 
tute, with  the  efficiency  of  united  efforts.'  The  Pres- 
byterian Church  is  a  missionary  society,  thC'  object  of 
which  is  to  aid  in  the  conversion  of  the  world,  and 
every  member  of  the  Church  is  a  member  for  life  of 
said  society,  and  bound  to  do  all  in  his  power  for 
the  accomplishment  of  this  object."  In  1867  the 
Standing  Committee  on  Foreign  Missions  reported  to 
the  General  Assembly  a  resolution  beginning  with 
the  declaration,  "  This  Assembly  regards  the  whole 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  307 

Church  as  a  missionary  society  whose  main  work  is 
to  spread  the  knowledge  of  salvation."  Our  brethren 
of  the  Southern  Assembly  have  been  equally  out- 
spoken. "  In  the  Church  South,"  as  Dr.  Houston  de- 
clared at  the  Centennial  Celebration  of  this  Assembly 
at  Philadelphia  in  1888,  "  from  the  day  on  which  she 
first  took  up  her  independent  task,  foreign  missions 
have  been  recognized  as  the  imperial  cause.  When 
in  that  day  she  found  herself  girt  about  as  with  a 
wall  of  fire,  when  no  missionary  had  in  his  power  to 
go  forth  from  her  bosom  to  the  regions  beyond,  the 
first  General  Assembly  put  on  record  the  solemn  de- 
claration that,  as  this  Church  now  unfurled  her  ban- 
ner to  the  world,  she  desired  distinctly  and  deliber- 
ately to  inscribe  on  it,  in  immediate  connection 
with  the  Headship  of  her  Lord,  his  last  command, 
*  Go  ye  into  all  the  world  and  preach  the  gospel  to 
every  creature,'  regarding  it  as  the  great  end  of  her 
organization,  and  obedience  to  it  as  the  indispensable 
condition  of  her  Lord's  promised  presence." 

The  General  Councils  of  the  Alliance  of  Reformed 
Churches  holding  the  Presbyterian  system,  have 
with  equal  consistency  recognized  the  missionary 
obligations  resting  upon  the  broad  fellowship  of  the 
Presbyterian  Churches.  "As  to  the  constitution  of 
the  Christian  Church,"  it  was  declared  in  the  first 
Council,  "  Whether  Presbyterian,  Episcopal  or  Con- 
gregational, or  a  combination  of  these  various  ele- 
ments, doubt  and  uncertainty  may  prevail ;  but  as  to 


308  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

its  missionary  character  there  can  be  no  question. 
When  the  Church  ceases  to  do  this,  its  very  exist- 
ence is  at  stake.  Missions  are  but  the  simplest 
dictates  of  Christianity,  and  no  more  than  decent 
tributes  to  it.  They  are  essential,  not  extraneous  to 
its  nature."  At  this  same  Council  the  indubitable 
truth  was  recognized  that,  "  If  the  Bible  is  to  be  our 
teacher,  all  dispute  or  doubt  as  to  the  obligation  of 
evangelizing  the  nations  is  foreclosed  at  once.  To 
deny  it  would  be  as  complete  an  abnegation  of 
Christianity  as  to  deny  the  duty  of  loving  the 
Lord  our  God  with  all  our  heart,  or  loving  our 
neighbor  as  ourselves."  In  the  Third  Council,  that 
incarnation  of  the  apostolic  missionary  spirit,  Dr.  W. 
Fleming  Stevenson,  swept  the  whole  Council  with 
him  as  he  gave  expression  to  the  fundamental  faith 
of  our  Churches  in  St.  Enoch's  at  Belfast,  in  the 
words,  "  But  if  Christian  men  seem  now  agreed  that 
the  Word  of  God  does  not  merely  contain  here 
and  there  a  missionary  chapter,  or  the  music  of  a 
missionary  psalm,  or  some  clear  words  of  prophecy, 
or  more  clear  and  commanding  word  of  Christ,  but 
is  throughout,  an  intensely  missionary  book,  the 
missionary  spirit  being  of  the  very  essence  of  its 
revelation ;  if  it  is  a  book  that  responds,  Avith  the 
sensitiveness  of  a  divine  sympathy,  to  the  cry  of  the 
lost  but  seeking  spirit,  to  the  burdened  sign  of  pagan 
Asia  as  well  as  to  the  anguish  of  those  that  doubt 
and  yearn  in  Europe  and  America ;  if  it  is  a  book 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  309 

that  proclaims,  with  every  one  of  its  tongues  of  fire, 
tliat  there  is  a  kingdom  of  God  to  grow  out  from  it, 
instinct  with  its  own  spirit,  a  kingdom  of  living  men 
in  whom  its  revelation  will  be  seen  in  action,  by 
whom  its  sympathy  and  its  offer  of  life  and  rest  will 
be  borne  to  every  nation,  in  whom  the  great  hunger 
for  the  redemption  of  the  world  has  struck  so  deep, 
that  every  one  who  is  of  that  kingdom  must  hunger 
with  the  same  intensity,  and  look  out  on  the  world 
with  the  very  eyes  of  Christ,  and  see,  not  in  dreams 
and  fancies  of  the  poets,  but  by  faith — faith  which  is 
no  dreamer,  but  real  and  practical,  carving  swiftly 
the  way  to  its  own  end — see,  by  faith,  the  march  of 
the  people  back  to  God,  the  idols  flung  aside,  and  the 
cry  of  all — 

"  Nothing  in  my  hand  I  bring. 
Simply  to  thy  cross  I  cling;" 

if  that  is  the  idea  of  the  kingdom  of  God,  then  even 
our  noble  missionary  societies  are  not  the  adequate 
expression  of  this  enterprise  of  Christian  missions, 
but  are  only  preparatory,  and  the  conception  of  a 
missionary  society  we  are  to  keep  before  us  is  of  the 
Church  herself,  as  broad  as  the  Church,  as  manifold 
as  her  gifts,  as  numerous  as  her  mcml)ership,  and  as 
much  clothed  as  she  can  claim  to  be,  with  power 
from  on  high.  That,  in  theory,  is  the  position  that 
has  been  taken  by  the  great  body  of  the  Presbyterian 
Churches,  and  what  I  plead  for  is  nothing  more  than 


310  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

that  this  theory  should  be  wrought  into  practice." 
In  a  later  Council  still,  to  quote  but  from  one  other, 
the  report  on  foreign  missions  concluded  "  with  the 
hope  that  clearer,  fuller  expression  than  ever  before 
may  be  given  to  the  great  principle  that  the  Gospel 
must  be  preached  to  every  creature,  and  that  '  mis- 
sions '  (in  the  well-known  words  of  Alexander  Duff) 
'  are  the  chief  end  of  the  Christian  Church.' "  And  Dr. 
Murray  Mitchell  added,  "  Oh,  then,  let  a  voice, 
a  proclamation,  go  forth  from  this  great  gathering, 
which  shall  be  re-echoed  from  every  General  Assembly 
and  Synod  and  Presbyterian  church,  and  which 
shall  go  on  reverberating  from  shore  to  shore,  until 
the  heart  of  every  member  and  adherent  of  our 
communion  is  aroused,  and  the  zeal  for  the  glory  of 
God  and  the  salvation  of  man  rises  to  the  height  of 
a  holy  passion." 

The  missionary  spirit  and  conviction,  therefore, 
are  of  the  very  fabric  and  texture  of  our  Presbyterian 
Churches.  Opposition  to  missions  or  indifference  to 
missions  is  heresy.  There  is  no  worse  heresy.  The 
spirit  of  antagonism  or  indifference  is  heretical.  The 
man  who  is  guilty  of  it  is  unworthy  of  his  fathers ; 
unworthy  of  the  principles  on  which  the  Church 
rests;  unworthy  of  the  Church  herself;  unworthy, 
most  of  all,  of  that  dear  Master,  who,  though  he 
was  on  an  equality  with  God,  counted  not  that 
equalit}^  a  prize  to  be  jealously  retained,  but  made 
himself  of  no  reputation,  and  took  on  him  the  form 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  311 

of  a  foreign  missionary,  and  became  obedient  unto 
death,  even  the  death  of  the  cross.  Such  heresy 
should  not  be  tolerated  with  easy  carelessness. 
That  Assembly  was  acting  with  sound  judgment  and 
a  solemn  recognition  of  its  responsibilties,  which 
instructed  the  Presbyteries  to  enter  upon  their  records 
the  names  of  all  churches  failing  to  contribute  to  the 
cause  of  foreign  missions,  with  the  reasons  for  their 
delinquency. 

These  fine  protestations  of  missionary  sympathy 
have  not  been  confined  to  Assembly  deliverance  or 
fervent  resolution.  The  Presbyterian  Churches  have 
deliberately  assumed  heavy  and  far-reaching  re- 
sponsibilities. Our  fathers  in  this  Church  spread_ 
their  missions  all  over  the  world.  No  other  Amer- 
ican Church  has  extended  its  banners  or  flung  out 
its  line  of  battle  as  we  have  done.  Our  missions  are 
on  every  continent  save  Europe,  and  we  confront 
every  non-Cliristian  religion.  The  American  Board 
stands  with  us  before  Islam,  but  has  no  missions  in 
South  America.  The  Methodist  Board  works  with 
us  in  South  America,  but  has  no  missions  to  Islam. 
While  the  Baptist  Union  has  missions  neither  in 
South  America  nor  among  the  Mohammedans,  save, 
as  like  the  Methodists,  it  touches  these  in  India.  With 
our  associated  l*resbyterian  Churches  we  have  spread 
out  over  the  world  as  not  even  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land has  done ;  and  while  the  Roman  Catliolic 
Church    is   more   penetrative  and   universal,  we   at 


312  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

least  surpass  it  in  the  number  of  missionaries,  in  the 
indomitable  zeal,  and  in  the  undiscouragable  faith 
with  which  in  Egypt,  Persia,  Turkey,  and  the  Pun- 
jab we  are  making  our  assault  on  the  citadels  of 
Mohammedanism. 

An  unexaggeruted  estimate  of  the  numbers  for 
whom  we,  of  this  single  Church,  have  made  ourselves 
responsible  by  our  occupation  of  heathen  soil  and  by 
the  principles  of  missionary  comity,  would  assign  to 
us  perhaps  not  less  than  160,000,000  of  people.  We 
were  among  the  first  to  plant  our  missions  in  Japan, 
with  its  40,000,000;  Syria  with  its  1,500,000;  Brazil 
with  its  14,000,000;  Mexico  with  its  12,000,000;  Chili 
with  its  2,500,000.  We  occupy  alone  Siam  and  Laos 
with  their  undetermined  millions,  estimated  by  some 
at  6,000,000,  and  by  others  at  30,000,000  ;  Colombia, 
with  its  4,000,000;  Guatemala,  with  its  1,200,000;  all 
of  northern  Persia,  with  its  5,000,000.  Korea,  with 
its  12,000,000,  was  opened  practically  by  our  own 
missionaries,  and  in  China  we  bear  great  responsi- 
bility, in  many  cases  the  major  responsibility,  for 
18,000,000  in  the  Province  of  Pechili ;  35,000,000  in 
the  Provinces  of  Chekiang  and  Kiangsu  ;  36,000,000  in 
the  Province  of  Shantung ;  30,000,000  in  the  Province 
of  Canton  and  the  Island  of  Hainan ;  and  for  the 
21,000,000  of  Hunan  and  the  32,000,000  of  Anhui. 
While  in  India,  we  have  laid  our  missions  in  the 
northwest  Provinces  with  their  47,000,000  ;  the  Pun- 
jab with  its  21,000,000 ;  the  Bombay  Presidency  with 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  313 

its  19,000,000 — for  all  of  whom,  we,  with  others, 
shall  be  obliged  to  give  account  in  that  great  day 
when  we  stand  with  them,  face  to  face,  before  the  judg- 
ment throne  of  him  who  came,  not  to  condemn,  but 
to  save  the  world. 

On  every  continent,  on  the  islands  of  the  sea,  on  the 
soil  of  every  non-Christian  faith,  the  Presbyterian 
Churches  have  planted  their  standards.  No  Churches 
have  recognized  so  clearly,  or  with  such  magnanimity, 
the  rules  of  mission  comity.  None  have  been  so 
careful  to  avoid  transgression  upon  territory  or  among 
people  for  which  other  Churches  have  made  them- 
selves responsible;  but  even  so,  driven  by  the  mighty 
impulse  of  our  deep  convictions,  constrained  by  the 
love  of  that  Christ  for  whose  unique  and  stainless 
divinity  we  have  been  ever  jealous,  eager  to  offer  to 
break  tlie  bread  of  life  and  to  reveal  to  the  restless 
millions  who  await "  that  liglit  whose  dawning  maketh 
all  things  new,"  we  have  gone  out  as  our  Master  bade, 
through  the  lands  near  at  hand,  on  and  on,  unto  the 
uttermost  parts  of  the  earth. 

And  the  responsibilities  that  are  implied  in  God's 
manifest  blessing  upon  our  Churches  at  home  are  as 
great  and  solemn  as  the  responsibilities  we  have 
avowedly  assumed.  Mr.  Moody,  whose  shrewd  views 
of  men  and  movements  seldom  err,  said  to  a  friend 
of  mine  not  long  ago,  as  he  sought  advice  regarding 
a  proposition  made  to  him  in  connection  with  one  of 
the  boards  of  our  Church,  "  It  will  be  a  place  of  great 


314  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

power.  That  Church  has  the  brains  and  the  wealth 
of  the  United  States."  As  to  our  intellectual  capacity, 
we  may  let  others  speak  for  us ;  but  it  is  common 
fame  that  whatever  wealth  can  do,  the  Presbyterian 
Churches  can  do  if  they  wish.  The  wealth  of  the 
United  States  according  to  the  census  of  1890  was 
$65,000,000,000.  According  to  the  same  census,  one- 
twentieth  of  the  communicant  members  of  the 
Churches  were  Presbyterians.  While  not  all  the 
population  of  the  country  is  in  the  Churches,  to  as- 
sign to  the  Presbyterian  Churches  a  proportion  of  the 
total  wealth  of  the  country  as  large  as  the  jDroportion 
sustained  by  the  Presbyterian  communicants  to  the 
total  Church  membership  of  the  country,  would  be 
well  within  the  mark.  It  was  asserted  here  the  other 
evening  that  one-sixth  of  the  wealth  of  this  land  is 
in  the  hands  of  the  Presbyterians.  Let  us  assume 
that  one-twentieth  is.  According  to  the  census  statis- 
tics of  our  national  wealth  eight  years  ago  this  pro- 
portion would  assign  to  our  churches  three  billions 
of  dollars.  The  average  annual  increase  of  our 
national  wealth  for  the  decade  ending  1890  was  two 
billions  of  dollars ;  the  same  proportionate  increase 
during  the  present  decade  would  make  our  present 
national  wealth  about  ninety  billions  of  dollars  ;  one- 
twentieth  of  this  would  assign  to  Presbyterian  control 
four  and  one-half  billions  of  dollars ;  while  our  pro- 
portionate share  of  the  annual  increase  of  our  na- 
tional wealth  would  be  one  hundred  and  fifty  mil- 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  315 

lions.  Our  present  gifts  to  missions,  therefore,  amount 
to  one  five-thousandth  of  our  wealth,  and  less  than 
one  one-hundred-and-fiftieth,  not  of  our  income,  but 
of  what  we  annually  save  out  of  our  income  and  add 
to  our  stock  of  accumulated  values.  One-third,  or  at 
the  utmost,  one-half  of  the  treasure  that  the  Presby- 
terian Churches  alone  lay  up  annually  where  moth 
and  rust  corrupt  and  where  thieves  break  through 
and  steal,  would  be  sufficient,  given  annually,  to  sup- 
port the  work  of  the  world's  evangelization  on  a  scale 
that  would  promise  the  effective  proclamation  of  the 
gospel  throughout  the  world,  to  the  extent,  probably, 
to  which  that  responsibility  rests  upon  the  foreign 
mission  enterprise. 

As  to  men  and  women,  it  is  estimated  that  two  mil- 
lion young  men  and  women  will  be  graduated  from 
colleges  and  higher  institutions  in  this  land  in  this 
generation.  How  many  of  these  will  be  Presbyterians 
it  is  impossible  to  say.  One-twentieth  of  them  would 
be  a  low  estimate.  According  to  this  estimate,  100,000 
young  men  and  women  of  our  own  Church  will  be 
sent  out  into  life  with  the  fullest  and  highest  training 
which  our  country  has  to  offer.  One-half  of  this 
number  would  be  sufficient,  the  wisest  and  most  ju- 
dicious missionaries  think,  to  spread  the  gospel  and 
establish  native  churches,  so  as  to  bring  us  reasonably 
in  view  of  the  issue  of  the  distinctively  foreign  mis- 
sionary enterprise.  And  this  takes  no  account  of  the 
large  numbers  of  men  and  women  who  have  been 


31 G  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

already  trained,  and  who  would  be  available  for  this 
glorious  enterprise,  if  the  spirit  of  Elijah  and  Paul — 
the  spirit  of  blood  and  of  fire,  the  spirit  of  passionate 
zeal  and  burning  devotion,  should  fall  upon  the 
Church  of  our  love. 

The  Presbyterian  Churches  alone  have  men  and 
money  enough  for  the  world's  evangelization.  With 
no  help  from  any  other  Church,  helped  only  by  the 
spirit  of  the  Most  High,  we  could  go  forth  if  we  would, 
if  it  pleased  God,  to  satisfy  the  heart  of  the  expectant 
Christ,  who  waits  to  see  of  the  travail  of  his  soul,  and 
to  be  satisfied.  We  are  but  a  part  of  the  innumer- 
able company  of  the  Church  militant,  and  no  such 
exclusive  privilege  of  glorious  service  as  this  will 
ever  be  ours ;  but  surely  Providence  is  dumb,  and 
the  spirit  of  God  has  died  away  into  a  meaningless 
rustle  of  a  breeze  among  the  leaves,  unless  by  such 
endowments  of  capacity  as  these,  God  is  challenging 
us  to  a  new  service  and  a  more  Christ-like  sacrifice. 

And  now,  on  these  foundations,  what  conclusion 
shall  we  rest?  Shall  we  turn  now  to  glory  in  our 
past  attainments  ?  Should  the  predominant  senti- 
ment in  our  hearts  be  congratulation  over  the  meas- 
ure of  our  present  obedience;  satisfaction  with  what 
we  have  done  in  the  way  of  the  world's  evangeliza- 
tion ;  or  utter  repentance  at  our  failure  and  short- 
comings, and  intense  desire  after  new  obedience? 
God  forbid  that  we  should  glory  save  in  the  cross  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.     Is  it  a  time  to  praise  the 


A  NNI  VERSA  R  Y  A  D DRESSES.  3 1 7 

Church  for  lier  great  devotion,  when,  as  has  been 
sii[)posed,  she  gives  less  than  a  tithe  of  a  tithe,  not  of 
her  income,  but  of  her  annual  increase  of  wealth,  for 
the  evangelization  of  the  non-Christian  world,  "Half 
as  many  mills  on  the  dollar,"  some  one  has  said,  "  as 
our  fathers  gave  in  1840?"  Is  it  a  time  to  indulge  in 
the  sedatives  of  reminiscence  and  complacent  content- 
ment when,  as  Mrs.  Bishop  declared  in  Exeter  Hall, 
November  1,  1893,  "The  work  is  only  beginning, 
and  we  have  barely  touched  the  fringe  of  it;  the 
natural  increase  of  population  in  the  heathen  world 
is  outstripping  at  this  moment  all  our  efforts  ?"  Quali- 
fied as  it  should  be,  there  is  nothing  soothing  or 
soporific  in  such  a  statement,  or  in  the  fact  that  of 
the  two  million  villages  estimated  to  exist  in  Asia, 
probably  not  two  hundred  thousand  have  been 
reached,  while  three  out  of  every  four  men  in  the 
world  are  ignorant  of  "  the  man  Christ  Jesus,  who 
gave  himself  a  ransom  for  all." 

In  comparison  with  that  gift  and  the  world's  need, 
what  is  an  offering  of  $881,000  and  700  men  and 
women  from  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  the  United 
States  of  America?  Is  there  any  sacrifice  here? 
Undoubtedly,  but  by  what  standard?  David  Liv- 
ingstone wrote: 

"  Hundreds  of  young  men  animally  leave  our 
shores  as  cadets  ;  all  their  friends  rejoice  when  they 
think  of  them  bearing  the  commissions  of  our  Queen. 
When  any  dangerous  expedition  is  planned  by  gov- 


318  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

ernment,  more  volunteers  apply  than  are  necessary 
to  man  it.  .  .  .  Yet  no  word  of  sacrifice  there.  And 
why  should  we  so  regard  all  we  give  and  do  for  the 
well-beloved  of  our  souls?  Our  talk  of  sacrifices  is 
ungenerous  and  heathenish." 

To  pour  out  blood  like  water  in  the  campaign  in 
the  wilderness  was  heroism !  A  lost  missionary 
life  is  ftmaticism !  To  incur  a  national  debt  of 
$2,845,907,626,  and  to  expend  $8,000,000,000  for  pur- 
poses of  bloodshed  and  war  was  patriotism.  To  give 
a  few  millions  for  a  world's  redemption  is  "  charity." 
Such  infamous  opinions  as  the  second  and  fourth  are 
born  of  the  lenient  and  dilatory  spirit  which  regards 
the  missionary  enterprise  as  a  spiritual  luxury,  and 
the  missionary  goal  as  far  off,  not  attainable,  not 
demanding  the  effort  immediately  to  attain  it.  It 
may  be  so.  We  have  no  right  to  assume  it.  "  Live," 
cried  Luther,  "  as  though  Christ  had  died  yesterday, 
risen  to-day,  and  were  coming  to-morrow." 

Let  the  standard  go  up  and  the  tone  of  missionary 
appeal.  There  is  no  need  of  apology  for  putting  the 
claim  of  the  Cross  and  the  Commission  imperatively 
first.  It  belongs  there.  The  mission  cause  should 
be  presented  as  an  obligation,  unavoidable,  immedi- 
ate; and  not  with  half-hearted  interest  or  the  be- 
numbing contentment  born  of  satisfaction  with  the 
past,  or  a  low  standard  and  ideal.  With  all  just  ac- 
knowledgment of  the  work  already  done,  with  deep 
gratitude  for  the  spirit  already  aroused,  let  the  heart 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  319 

of  the  Church  be  turned  to  the  vast  work  undone, 
waiting.     As  Browning's  David  says : 

"'Tis  not  wliat  man  docs  that  exalts  him, 
But  what  man  would  do." 

Or,  shall  we,  on  the  other  hand,  pause  for  crimina- 
nation  and  recrimination,  complaint  and  criticism, 
because  of  the  degree  of  our  shortcoming  and  the 
width  of  the  chasm  that  separates  our  self-indulgence 
from  the  self-sacrifice  of  Christ?  And  what  profit 
would  there  be  in  that?  No,  let  us  rather  turn  our 
faces  toward  the  future.  We  have  reviewed  our 
Churches'  confession  of  their  obligations  ;  we  have 
marked  their  acknowledgment  of  these  obligations 
in  their  broad  assumption  of  responsibilities  ;  and  we 
have  noted  God's  equipment  of  our  Church  for 
larger  service.  We  have  stood  this  day  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  fathers  and  have  breathed  their  spirit ; 
we  have  gloried  in  our  traditions,  and  have  blessed 
God  for  all  that  he  has  accomplished  through  us. 
And  now  let  us  forget  the  things  that  are  behind, 
and  reach  forth  unto  the  things  that  are  before,  to  the 
mark  of  the  prize  of  the  high  calling  of  God  in  Christ 
Jesus,  to  the  broader  and  more  devoted  service  of 
humanity,  and  to  the  coronation  of  our  King. 

For  we  are  not  alone  the  guardians  and  trustees 
of  the  AVestminster  Standards,  which  are  a  statement 
of  truth  and  life ;  we  are  the  guardians  and  trustees 
of  the  life  and  truth  therein  described.     And  false 


320  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

and  reprehensible  should  we  be  if  in  our  zeal  for 
loyalty  to  the  statement  we  forgot  to  be  loyal  to  the 
substance.  We  shall  be  poor  descendants  of  the  men 
who  made  up  the  Westminster  Assembly,  and  shall 
poorly  complete  their  work,  if  we  so  concern  ourselves 
with  the  deposit  of  truth  which  they  sent  down  to  us, 
as  to  lose  sight  of  that  great  world's  redemption,  to 
the  principles  of  whose  necessity  and  method  they 
gave  formulation.  What  the  world  needs  is  not  the 
prescription  only,  but  also  and  even  more,  that  heal- 
ing stream  for  which  the  prescription  calls, 

"  Which  flows  from  Calvary's  fountain." 

And  from  this  point  of  view,  the  solemn  and  vital 
question  for  us  this  day  is,  not  what  we  think  of  the 
divines  of  the  Westminster  Assembly,  but  what  they 
are  thinking  of  us,  as  associated  to-night  with  Him 
who  loved  and  died  for  the  world,  they  are  regarding 
it  with  His  affection,  and  viewing  all  human  enter- 
prises as  they  appear  in  the  light  of  His  cross  and  His 
throne.  The  divines  of  the  Westminster  Assembly 
served  their  generation  by  the  will  of  God,  and  fell 
on  sleep.  The  supreme  inquiry  for  us  is,  whether 
we  are  serving  our  generation  by  that  same  will,  and 
are  laying  such  foundations  for  the  future  as  shall 
make  the  men  of  2148  look  back  on  this  Assembly 
as  we  have  been  looking  back  to-day  to  the  men  and 
the  Assembly  of  1C48  ?     What  sort  of  men  we  are 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  321 

and  what  sort  of  men  our  children  will  be  is  of 
vastly  more  consequence  to  this  world  than  the  kind 
of  men  our  ancestors  were.  There  is  a  story  of  an 
Austrian  nobleman,  who,  risen  from  the  ranks  of  the 
common  people,  was  taunted  once  by  a  group  of 
degenerate  princes  because  of  his  w^ant  of  ancestry. 
"  Gentlemen,"  he  replied,  "  you  are  descendants;  I  am 
an  ancestor."  If  I  must  make  my  choice,  I  would 
rather  be  the  ancestor  of  a  new  Westminster  Assembly 
than  the  descendant  of  an  old  one.  I  would  rather  be 
the  architect  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  glorious  years 
of  future  history  than  the  product  of  two  hundred 
and  fifty  years  of  great  history  past. 

And  I  venture  diffidently  to  make  appeal  to  you 
in  behalf  of  the  generation  that  is  to  follow  you. 
This  Church  is  our  Church,  the  Church  of  our  love, 
as  it  has  been  your  Church — my  fathers — and  the 
Church  of  your  love.  Set  her  face  toward  the 
larger  future,  and  the  world-wide  service,  we 
beseech  you,  as  you  commit  the  dear  interests  of 
her  life  to  us.  Make  her  to  see  the  glory  of  her 
world-wide  destiny.  Let  her  walk  out  boldly  into 
the  large  liberties.  Lead  us  on  where,  laying  aside 
every  weight,  and  encompassed  by  the  great  cloud 
of  witnesses,  the  glorious  company  of  those  who, 
from  before  the  days  of  the  Covenants,  have  wit- 
nessed a  good  confession,  and  have  entered  into  their 
glory,  we  may  do  bravely  the  ever-broadening  work 
of  our  Lord.     Put  our  hands  for  us,  before  you  go  to 

21 


322  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY. 

be  yourselves  numbered  with  that  great  company,  to 
the  vast  tasks  of  the  new  day.  The  night  is  gone  and 
the  day  is  breaking.  Standing  amid  the  multitude 
of  your  sons  who  are  following  fiist  in  your  steps,  I 
can  see  the  long  streamers  which  mark  the  coming 
of  the  dawn.  Let  us  go  out  into  it  in  the  spirit  of  the 
great  memories  which  this  day  has  recalled,  to  make 
wrong  things  right,  to  make  dark  things  light,  to 
turn  human  hate  into  love,  and  human  strife  into 
peace ;  to  beat  the  swords  into  ploughshares ;  to  tell 
men  that  Christ  is  King,  and  to  win  them  to  his 
kingdom ;  to  pour  the  blessings  of  his  gospel  over 
every  land,  from  sea  to  sea;  to  whisper  his  gentle 
grace  to  every  human  heart ;  to  hasten  the  certain 
coming  of  the  glorious  age  of  Tennyson's  vision, 
when, 

' '  Universal  love  is  each  man' s  law, 
And  universal  right  is  each  man's  rule, 
And  universal  peace  lie"  — 

no  more 

"Like  a  shaft  of  light  across  the  land, 
And  like  a  lane  of  beams  athwart  the  sea,' 

but  like  the  all-covering  radiance  of  that  city  that 
hath  no  need  of  any  sun,  because  the  Lamb  himself 
is  the  light  thereof  "  thro'  all  the  circle  of  the  golden 
year." 


THE  WESTMINSTER  STANDARDS  AND 

THE  FORMATION   OF   THE 

AMERICAN   REPUBLIC. 

BY    THE 

Rkv.  WM.   HENKY   ROBERTS,  D.  D.,  LL.  D. 


THE  WESTMINSTER  STANDARDS  AND  THE 

FORMATION   OF  THE  AMERICAN 

REPUBLIC. 

BY    THE 

Rev.  WM.  HENRY  ROBERTS,  D.  D.,  LL.  D. 


The  predominant  influence  in  the  history  of  man- 
kind lias  always  been  that  resident  in  ideas.  All 
forms  of  human  organization,  religious,  social,  politi- 
cal, are  the  outgrowth  of  the  ideas  which  constitute 
their  formative  principles.  This  is  true  whatever  the 
character  of  the  organizations,  whether  they  be 
societies,  communities,  nations,  or  churches.  The 
State  as  well  as  the  Church,  empires  equally  with 
republics,  tyrannies  equally  with  popular  govern- 
ments, are  the  results  of  the  dominance  of  ideas  in 
the  human  mind.  It  is  this  fact  which  gives  to  truth 
its  supreme  worth,  and  which  confers  upon  all  sacri- 
fices made  for  principle  an  inestimable  value. 

The  power  resident  in  ideas  finds  marked  illustra- 
tion in  the  Protestant  Reformation,  which  began  its 
beneficent  revolutionary  work  in  the  early  years  of 
the  sixteenth  century.  That  Reformation  took  as 
formative  truths  the  sovereignty  of  God  over  human 

3;^ 


326  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

affairs,  the  sovereignty  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  as 
(lod's  law  over  faith  and  conduct,  the  direct  respon- 
sibility of  the  individual  to  God,  and  the  fact  that  in 
his  dealings  with  men  God  is  no  respecter  of  persons. 
Further,  as  ideas,  these  cardinal  tenets  of  the  Re- 
formation became  political  as  well  as  religious  forces. 
Truth,  when  accepted,  affects  all  the  interests  of  men, 
material,  mental  and  political,  as  well  as  spiritual. 
Church  and  State  may  be  kept  distinct,  as  they  are 
in  this  land,  but  you  cannot  prevent  by  such  separation 
the  moulding  influence  of  religious  principles  upon 
the  human  mind  and  human  life.  The  Protestant 
Reformation  became,  therefore,  an  irrepressible  and 
aggressive  political  force,  maintaining  and  securing 
the  rights  of  man  to  equality  before  the  law,  to 
liberty,  and  to  a  voice  in  the  government  under 
which  he  lives. 

The  ideas  which  caused  and  controlled  the  Re- 
formation found  expression  two  hundred  and  fifty 
years  ago  in  the  Westminster  Standards.  Doctrinally, 
the  system  of  thought  found  in  them  bears  the  name 
of  Calvinism,  from  its  chief  theologian,  John  Calvin  of 
Geneva.  Politically,  the  system  is  the  chief  source 
of  modern  republican  government.  That  Calvinism 
and  republicanism  are  related  to  each  other  as  cause 
and  effect  is  acknowledged  by  authorities  who  are 
not  Presbyterians.  Isaac  Taylor  calls  republicanism 
the  Presbyterian  principle.  Bishop  Ilorsley  declares 
that  "  Calvin  was   unquestionably  in   theory  a   Re- 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  327 

publican,"  and  adds  that  "  so  wedded  was  he  to  tliis 
notion,  that  lie  endeavored  to  fashion  the  govern- 
ment of  all  the  Protestant  Churches  upon  republican 
principles."  This  thought  is  still  further  carried 
forward  by  Bancroft  when  he  speaks  of  "  the  politi- 
cal character  of  Calvinism,  which  with  one  consent 
and  with  instinctive  judgment  the  monarchs  of 
that  day  feared  as  republicanism."  Emilio  Castelar, 
the  leader  of  the  Spanish  liberals,  says  that  "  Anglo- 
Saxon  democracy  is  the  product  of  a  severe  theology, 
learned  in  the  cities  of  Holland  and  Switzerland." 
Leopold  Von  Ranke,  the  German  historian,  gives  his 
weighty  judgment  in  the  words,  "John  Calvin  was 
the  virtual  founder  of  America."  -James  Anthony 
Froude,  the  English  historian,  bears  witness  to  the 
character  of  the  political  progress  of  the  last  three 
centuries  in  the  sentence,  "  nearly  all  the  chief  bene- 
fiictors  of  the  modern  world  have  been  Calvinists." 
Lord  Macaulay  writes  that  the  ministers  of  the 
Church  of  Scotland  inherited  the  republican  opin- 
ions of  Knox,  and  also  states  that  the  Long  Parlia- 
ment, which  was  controlled  by  Presbyterians,  "is 
justly  entitled  to  the  reverence  and  gratitude  of  all 
in  every  part  of  the  world  who  enjoy  the  blessings 
of  constitutional  freedom."  The  Long  Parliament 
was  the  body  which  gave  existence  to  the  West- 
minster Assembly,  and  Macaulay's  testimony  there- 
fore points  to  the  intimate  connection  between  Cal- 
vinistic    doctrine    and     constitutional    government. 


328  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

These  extracts  from  tlie  writings  of  men  who  were 
not  themselves  Presbyterians,  indicate  clearly  the 
political  influence  of  the  doctrinal  ideas  contained 
in  the  Westminster  Standards. 

The  Westminster  Standards  were  the  common 
doctrinal  standards  of  all  the  Calvinists  of  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland,  the  countries  which  have  given 
to  the  United  States  its  language  and  to  a  consid- 
erable degree  its  laws.  The  English  Calvinists, 
commonly  known  as  Puritans,  early  found  a  home 
on  American  shores,  and  the  Scotch,  Dutch,  Scotch- 
Irish,  French,  and  German  settlers,  who  were 
of  the  Protestant  faith,  were  their  natural  allies.  It 
is  important  to  a  clear  understanding  of  the  influ- 
ence of  Westminster  in  American  Colonial  history 
to  know  that  the  majority  of  the  early  settlers  of 
this  country  from  Massachusetts  to  New  Jersey  in- 
clusive, and  also  in  parts  of  Maryland,  Virginia,  and 
the  Carolinas,  were  Calvinists.  They  brought  with 
them  to  this  land  those  doctrinal  ideas  which  exalt, 
as  we  have  seen,  in  the  human  mind,  the  sovereignty 
of  God,  which  bring  all  lives  and  institutions  to  the 
test  of  the  Holy  Scripture,  which  teach  that  the 
divine  being  is  no  respecter  of  persons,  and  which  lead 
logically  to  the  conclusion  that  all  men  are  born  free 
and  equal.  Further,  the  early  British  settlers, 
whether  Presbyterians  or  Puritans,  were  all  believers 
in  the  Westminster  Confession.  The  Congregation- 
alists  of  New  England  adopted    it   for   doctrine   in 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  329 

1G4S,  one  ^^ar  after  its  completion  at  London;  the 
Baptists  also  adopted  it  in  1077  except  as  to  Baptist 
peculiarities;  the  Presbyterians  always  maintained  it 
vigorously  for  both  doctrine  and  government ;  and 
the  Reformed  Dutch  were  in  full  sympathy  with  the 
Presbyterians.  To  put  the  situation  concisely,  about 
the  year  1700  the  American  Colonists  were  divided 
into  two  great  sections,  the  one  Episcopalians  and 
Monarchists,  the  other  Calvinists  and  believers  in 
popular  government.  From  Boston  to  the  Potomac 
Puritan  and  Presbyterian  Calvinists  were  in  the 
ascendant,  and  from  the  Potomac  southward  the 
majority  of  the  people  were  of  opi)Osite  tendencies. 
Naturally  between  these  parties  conflicts  arose,  caused 
by  their  fundamental  differences  in  religion,  in 
church  government,  and  in  the  views  which  they 
held  of  the  rights  of  the  people.  Into  a  lengthy  and 
adequate  consideration  of  these  differences  and  of 
the  conflicts  which  they  engendered,  the  limits  of 
time  forbid  that  I  should  enter.  I  shall  content 
myself  with  concise  statement  of  several  particulars, 
each  of  which  is  intimately  connected  as  a  funda- 
mental factor  with  the  formation  of  the  American 
Republic. 

One  of  the  initial  })oints  of  diifercnce  between  the 
Calvinists  and  other  of  the  early  American  settlers 
had  to  do  with  popular  education.  We  to-day  be- 
lieve that  the  education  of  all  citizens  is  funda- 
mental to  the  welfare  of  the  Republic.     This  prin- 


330  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

ciple,  however,  it  should  be  understood,  is  a  logical 
result  of  Calvinistic  thought  and  practice.  Calvin- 
ists,  taught  by  the  Holy  Scriptures,  made  religion  a 
personal  matter,  not  between  man  and  the  Church, 
but  between  the  soul  and  God,  and  necessitated 
personal  knowledge  on  the  part  of  human  beings 
of  God's  Word  as  the  law  of  faith  and  life.  Educa- 
tion in  religious  truth  became  therefore  a  cardinal 
principle  of  the  Calvinists,  and  the  steps  were  easy 
and  swift  from  it  to  secular  and  popular  education. 
This  logical  connection  between  Calvinism  and 
education  is  acknowledged  by  our  historian  Bancroft, 
who  says  that  Calvin  was  the  "  first  founder  of  the 
public  school  system."  It  is  also  shown  by  the 
history  of  popular  education.  A  high  authority 
states  that  Presbyterian  Scotland  "  is  entitled  to  the 
credit  of  having  first  established  schools  for  primary 
instruction  to  be  supported  at  the  public  expense." 
The  Scotch  system  of  free  education  was  founded  in 
15G7,  fifty  years  before  the  American  Calvinist 
colonies  had  been  established.  Presbyterian  Hol- 
land folloM^ed  closel}^  in  the  footsteps  of  Scotland, 
and  the  first  settlers  in  New  England  and  the  ]\Iiddle 
States,  being  themselves  Calvinists,  naturally  pro- 
ceeded at  once,  like  their  European  brethren  of 
similar  faith,  to  care  for  the  interests  of  education. 
Harvard,  Yale,  and  Princeton  Universities  were  all 
founded  by  men  who  believed  in  the  Westminster 
Confession,  and  as  earlv  as  1647  Massachusetts  and 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  331 

Connecticut  established  public  school  systems.  In 
some  other  colonies,  however,  a  very  different  state 
of  affairs  was  to  be  found.  An  Episcopal  governor 
of  Virginia,  in  16()1,  thanked  (jod  that  there  were  in 
that  region  neither  "  free  schools  nor  printing." 
Steadily  year  by  year,  however,  the  belief  in  popular 
education,  nurtured  by  our  Calvinistic  and  Puritan 
ancestors,  by  men  who  believed  in  the  Westminster 
Confession,  and  in  the  canons  of  the  Synod  of  Dort, 
spread  throughout  the  colonies,  and  to-day  the  right 
of  all  persons  to  become  through  instruction  intelli- 
gent citizens  is  everywhere  recognized  in  this  great 
republic.  Is  education  one  of  the  foundation-stones 
of  the  nation?  Then  honor  to  whom  honor  is  due,  to 
the  men  of  the  Westminster  Confession,  and  to  those 
who  with  them  believed  in  the  api)lication  of  Calvin- 
istic principles  to  secular  education. 

Another  cardinal  princi])le  of  the  government  of 
this  American  nation  is  the  separation  of  Church 
and  State,  with  its  resulting  absolute  religious  free- 
dom for  the  individual.  This  characteristic  of  the 
organization  of  the  republic  is  also  a  logical  outcome 
of  Calvinistic  doctrine.  Establishments  of  religion 
are  found  in  Europe,  even  in  such  Presbyterian 
lands  as  Scotland  and  Holland,  but  the}'  are  survi- 
vals from  a  past  age,  and  are  not  a  rightful  develop- 
ment from  the  great  Calvinistic  principle,  "  that  God 
alone  is  Lord  of  the  conscience."  This  was  seen 
clearly  in  the  American  Colonies  first  by  tlie  Dutch 


332  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

settlers  in  New  York,  who  were  Presbyterians,  then 
by  the  Baptists,  who  equally  with  the  Presbyterians 
are  Calvinists.  The  English-speaking  American 
Presbyterians  quickl}'^  recognized  the  full  force  of  the 
principle,  and  as  early  as  1729,  the  General  Synod 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church  declared  that  the  power 
to  persecute  persons  for  their  religion  was  contrary 
to  the  Word  of  God,  and  that  the  Church  should  be 
independent  of  the  State.  This  Scriptural  position 
was  antagonized,  however,  at  the  first  by  the  Congre- 
gationalists  in  New  England,  and  especially  by  the 
Episcopalians  in  all  the  colonies  where  they  were  in 
authority.  Gradually,  however,  the  principle  of 
untrammeled  religious  liberty  won  its  way  to  recog- 
nition in  New  England,  and  the  acknowledgment  of 
it,  there  and  in  other  parts  of  the  country,  was  hast- 
ened by  the  attempts  made  from  1750  onward  to 
establish  the  Episcopal  Church  in  the  colonies. 
United  resistance  to  such  attempts  was  first  organized 
in  1766,  ten  years  prior  to  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence, and  in  large  part  by  the  General  Synod 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  A  petition  liad  been 
sent  by  Episcopalians,  in  the  j'ear  just  named,  from 
a  convention  held  in  New  York,  to  the  British 
government,  for  the  appointment  of  bishops  for 
America.  Presbyterians  and  Congregationalists, 
Dutch,  German,  and  French  Protestants  had  experi- 
enced the  baneful  power  of  established  Episcopal 
Churches   on   the   other  side  of  the  Atlantic.     The 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  3.']3 

bishops  whom  their  ancestors  had  suffered  under 
were  arrogant  lords,  temporal  and  spiritual,  over  tlie 
heritage  of  God,  men  of  an  arbitrary  temper  and  a 
merciless,  persecuting  spirit.  American  Calvinists 
could  not  forget  the  awful  butcheries  of  the  Spanish 
tyrants  in  the  Netherlands,  the  terrible  devastation 
wrought  in  the  valley  of  the  Rhine,  the  100,000 
victims  of  the  massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew,  or  the 
18,000  covenanters  who  in  Scotland,  during  a  few 
brief  years,  were  either  massacred  by  dragoons  or 
executed  by  the  agents  of  ecclesiastical  tyranny. 
The  moment,  therefore,  that  religious  liberty  was 
seriously  threatened  by  the  schemes  of  a  Church 
which  at  that  time  was  ultra-loyal  to  the  British 
crown,  and  whose  ministers  with  hardly  an  exception 
were  opposed  to  the  cause  of  the  Colonies,  American 
Calvinists  joined  forces  and  from  New  England, 
southward  through  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Penn- 
sylvania, and  the  valley  of  Virginia,  to  the  highlands 
of  North  and  South  Carolina,  never  wavered  a  hair's- 
breadth  from  a  thoroughgoing  devotion  to  the  cau.se 
of  religious  liberty.  They  stood  shoulder  to  shoulder 
in  opposition  to  ecclesiastical  tyranny,  and  their 
courage  and  high  intelligence  secured  for  the  re- 
public, that  religious  freedom,  which  is  now  a  lead- 
ing characteristic  of  our  national  life. 

Having  dealt  with  religious  liberty,  it  is  natural 
now  to  turn  to  the  consideration  of  the  specific  rela- 
tion of  the  American  Presbyterian  Church,  to  the  civil 


^34  WESTMINSTER  ASSElfBLY 

liberty  which  was  secured  by  the  independence  of  the 
United  States.  The  opening  of  the  Revolutionary 
struggle  found  the  Presbyterian  ministers  and 
churches  ranged  solidly  on  the  side  of  the  colonies. 
In  1775  tlie  General  Synod  issued  a  pastoral  letter, 
an  extract  from  which  indicates  the  spirit  prevailing 
in  the  Church,  and  reads,  "  Be  careful  to  maintain 
the  union  which  at  present  subsists  through  all  the 
Colonies.  In  particular,  as  the  Continental  Congress, 
now  sitting  at  Philadelphia,  consists  of  delegates 
chosen  in  the  most  free  and  unbiased  manner  by  the 
people,  let  them  not  only  be  treated  with  respect  and 
encouraged  in  their  difficult  service,  not  only  let  your 
prayers  be  offered  up  to  God  for  his  direction  in  their 
proceedings,  but  adhere  firmly  to  their  resolutions, 
and  let  it  be  seen  that  they  are  able  to  bring  out  the 
whole  strength  of  this  vast  country  to  carry  them 
into  execution."  Contemporary  with  this  letter  of 
the  Synod  was  the  famous  Mecklenburgh  Declaration 
of  Independence,  renouncing  all  allegiance  to  Great 
Britain,  passed  by  a  convention  in  Western  North 
Carolina,  composed  of  delegates  nearly  all  Presby- 
terians, and  forestalling  the  action  of  the  Colonial 
Congress  in  the  same  line  by  more  than  a  year. 
Further,  in  the  sessions  of  the  Continental  Congress, 
the  influence  of  no  delegate  exceeded  that  wielded  by 
the  Pev.  John  Witherspoon,  president  of  Princeton 
College,  the  only  clerical  signer  of  the  Declaration  of 
Independence — "  a  man  Scotch  in  accent  and  strength 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  335 

of  conviction,  but  American  at  heart."  Under  his 
leadership  and  that  of  others  the  American  Presby- 
terian Church  never  faltered  in  her  devotion  to  the 
cause  of  the  independence  of  these  United  States;  her 
ministers  and  members  periled  all  for  its  support,  be- 
ing ready,  with  Witherspoon  to  go  to  the  block,  if 
need  be,  in  defence  of  civil  and  religious  liberty.  So 
resolute  and  aggressive  were  they  in  their  opposition 
to  the  English  government  that  the  Colonial  cause 
was  repeatedly  si)oken  of  in  Great  Britain  as  the  Pres- 
byterian Rebellion.  At  the  close  of  the  war,  in  1783, 
the  General  Synod  addressed  a  letter  to  its  churches, 
congratulating  them  on  the  "  general  and  almost  uni- 
versal attachment  of  the  Presbyterian  body  to  the 
cause  of  liberty  and  the  rights  of  mankind."  What 
was  true  of  the  Presbyterian  was  true  of  the  other 
Calvinistic  churches  of  the  land,  of  the  Congregational 
and  also  of  the  German  and  Dutcli  Reformed.*  If 
the  believers  in  the  Westminster  Standards  and  cog- 
nate creeds  had  been  on  the  side  of  George  III.  in 
1776,  the  result  would  have  been  other  than  it  was. 
But  they  stood  where  thoroughgoing  Calvinists 
must  ever  stand,  with  the  people  and  against  tyrants, 
and  therefore  under  the  blessing  of  God  tlie  American 
Colonies  became  free  and  independent  States.   Rightly 

*  It  is  estimated  lliat  of  tlie  8,000,000  Americans  at  the  time  of  the 
American  Revolution,  '.)00,000  were  of  Scotoii  or  Scotch-Irish  origin  ; 
that  the  (ierinan  and  Dutch  (Jalvinists  numbered  400,000,  and  ihe 
Puritan  English  000,000. 


336  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

then,  do  we  acknowledge  the  debt  of  the  Republic 
to  the  men  of  the  Westminster  Standards  for  civil 
liberty. 

We  pass  now  to  a  fact  which  in  connection  with 
the  influence  of  our  Church  upon  the  republic  is 
quite  as  important  as  any  yet  dealt  with,  the  position 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church  for  three-quarters  of  a 
century,  as  the  sole  representative  upon  this  conti- 
nent of  republican  government  as  now  organized 
in  this  nation.  From  1706  to  the  opening  of  the 
revolutionary  struggle,  tlie  only  body  in  existence 
which  stood  for  our  present  national  political  organi- 
zation was  the  General  Synod  of  the  American  Pres- 
byterian Church.  It  alone  among  ecclesiastical  and 
political  colonial  organizations  exercised  authority, 
derived  from  the  colonists  themselves,  over  bodies  of 
Americans  scattered  through  all  the  colonies  from 
New  England  to  Georgia.  The  colonies  in  the  seven- 
teenth and  eighteenth  centuries,  it  is  to  be  remem- 
bered, while  all  dependent  upon  Great  Britain,  were 
independent  of  each  other.  Such  a  body  as  the  Con- 
tinental Congress  did  not  exist  until  1774.  The  re- 
ligious condition  of  the  country  was  simihir  to  the 
political.  The  Congregational  Clmrches  of  New  Eng- 
land had  no  connection  with  each  other,  and  liad  no 
power  apart  from  the  civil  government.  The  Episco- 
pal Church  was  without  organization  in  the  Colonies, 
was  dependent  for  support  and  a  ministry  on  the 
Established  Church  of  England,  and  was  filled  with 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  337 

an  intense  loyalty  to  the  British  monarchy.  The  Re- 
formed Dutch  Church  did  not  become  an  efficient 
and  independent  organization  until  1771,  and  the 
German  Reformed  Church  did  not  attain  to  that  con- 
dition until  1703.  The  Baptist  Churches  were  sepa- 
rate organizations,  the  Methodists  were  practically 
unknown,  and  the  Quakers  were  non-combatants. 
But  in  the  midst  of  these  disunited  ecclesiastical  units 
one  body  of  American  Christians  stood  out  in  marked 
contrast.  The  General  Synod  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  was  not  dependent  for  its  existence  upon 
any  European  Church,  was  efficiently  organized,  and 
had  jurisdiction  over  churches  in  the  majority  of  the 
colonies.  Every  year  Presbyterian  ministers  and 
elders  from  the  different  colonies,  came  up  to  the 
cities  of  Philadelphia  or  New  York,  to  consider  not 
only  the  religious  interests  of  their  people,  but  like- 
wise educational  and  at  times  political  questions.  It 
was  impossible,  at  that  date,  it  must  be  remembered, 
to  separate  these  latter  issues  from  the  affairs  of  the 
Church,  for  tlie  country  was  under  the  English  gov- 
ernment, the  Episcopal  Church  was  the  only  Church 
to  which  that  government  was  favorable,  and  Chris- 
tians of  other  beliefs  were  compelled  to  act  vigorously 
and  unitedl}'  in  the  maintenance  of  both  their  religi- 
ous and  secular  interests.  And  the  Presbyterian 
Cliurch  filled  with  the  spirit  of  liberty,  intensely 
loyal  to  its  convictions  of  truth,  and  gathering  every 
year  in  its  General  Synod,  became  through  that  body  a 


338  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

bond  of  union  and  correspondence  between  large  ele- 
ments in  the  population  of  the  divided  colonies.  Is 
it  any  wonder  that  under  its  fostering  influence  the 
sentiments  of  true  liberty,  as  well  as  the  tenets  of  a 
sound  gospel,  were  preached  throughout  the  territory 
from  Long  Island  to  South  Carolina,  and  that  above 
all  a  feeling  of  unity  between  the  Colonies  began 
slowly  but  surely  to  assert  itself.  Too  much  emphasis 
cannot  be  laid,  in  connection  with  the  origin  of  the 
Nation,  upon  the  influence  of  that  ecclesiastical  re- 
public, which  from  1706  to  1774  was  the  only  repre- 
sentative on  this  continent  of  fully  developed  federal 
republican  institutions.  The  United  States  of  America 
owes  much  to  that  oldest  of  American  Republics,  the 
Presbyterian  Church. 

The  influence  which  the  Presbyterian  Church  ex- 
ercised for  the  securing  of  unity  between  the  Colon- 
ies was  zealously  employed,  at  the  close  of  the  war 
for  independence,  to  bring  them  into  a  closer  union. 
The  main  hindrance  to  the  formation  of  the  Federal 
Union,  as  it  now  exists,  lay  in  the  reluctance  of  many 
of  the  States  to  yield  to  a  general  government  any  of 
the  powers  which  they  possessed.  The  federal  party 
in  its  advocacy  of  closer  union  had  no  more  earnest 
and  eloquent  supporters  than  John  Witherspoon, 
Elias  Bond i not,  and  other  Presbyterian  members  of 
the  Continental  Congress.  Sanderson,  in  his  lives 
of  tlie  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence, 
states  that "  Witherspoon  strongly  combated  the  opin- 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  330 

ion  expressed  in  Congress  tliat  a  lasting  confederal!  jn 
among  the  States  was  impracticable,  and  he  warmly 
maintained  the  absolute  necessity  of  union  to  impart 
vigor  and  success  to  the  measures  of  government." 
In  this  he  was  aided  by  many  who  liad  come  to  the 
views  which  he,  as  a  Presbyterian,  had  always  main- 
tained. Those  who  differed  with  Witherspoon  at  the 
first  came  at  last  to  his  position.  Slowly  but  surely 
ideas  of  government,  in  harmony  with  those  of  the 
Westminster  Standards,  were  accepted  as  formative 
|)rinciples  for  the  government  of  the  United  States, 
and  that  by  many  persons  not  connected  with  the 
Presbyterian  Church.  Among  these  were  the  great 
leaders  in  the  Constitutional  Convention,  James  Mad- 
ison, a  graduate  of  Princeton,  who  sat  as  a  student 
under  Witherspoon ;  Alexander  Hamilton,  of  Scotch 
])arentage,  and  whose  familiarity  with  Presbyterian 
goverimient  is  fully  attested  ;  and  above  all  George 
Washington,  who  though  an  Episcopalian,  had  so 
great  a  regard  for  the  Presbyterian  Church  and  its 
services  to  the  country,  that  he  not  only  partook  of 
holy  communion  with  its  members,  but  gave  public 
expression  to  liis  high  esteem.  Indeed,  at  one  time 
so  marked  was  the  respect  for  our  Church  during 
Revolutionary  days,  that  it  was  feared  by  C'hristians 
of  other  denominations  that  it  might  become  in 
America,  what  it  was  in  Scotland,  the  Establislied 
Church,  and  so  widespread  was  the  feeling  of  alarm, 
tliat  the  General  Synod  felt  compelled  to  pa.ss  a  de- 


340  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY 

liverance  setting  forth  its  views  in  relation  to  religi- 
ous freedom.  Great,  however,  as  was  the  influence 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  those  trying  times,  its 
ministers  and  members  were  always  true  to  their  own 
principles,  and  in  every  possible  manner  sought  to 
maintain  and  further  them  in  their  application  to 
the  government  of  the  United  States,  and  especially 
in  connection  with  the  union  of  the  Colonies  whose 
independence  had  been  achieved.  Presbyterians  both 
in  the  Old  World  and  the  New  had  been  accustomed 
to  representative  government,  to  the  subordination  of 
the  parts  to  the  whole,  and  to  the  rule  of  majorities 
for  more  than  two  centuries  prior  to  the  American 
Revolution.  They  knew  the  value  of  unity  to  popu- 
lar government,  and  they  labored  earnestly  and  per- 
sistently until  their  governmental  principles  were  all 
accepted  by  the  American  people,  and  the  divided 
Colonies  became  the  United  States  of  America.  It  is 
not  that  the  claim  is  made,  that  either  the  principles 
of  the  Calvinistic  creed  or  of  the  Presbyterian  govern- 
ment, were  the  sole  source  from  which  sprang  the 
government  of  this  great  Republic  of  which  we  to- 
day are  citizens,  but  it  is  asserted  that  mightiest 
among  the  forces  which  made  the  Colonies  a  nation 
were  the  governmental  principles  found  in  the  West- 
minster Standards,  and  that  the  Presbyterian  Church 
taught,  practiced,  and  maintained  in  fulness,  first  in 
this  land  that  form  of  government  in  accordance  with 
which  the  Republic  has  been  organized.     Our  own 


ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESSES.  341 

historian  Bancroft  says,  "  the  Revolution  of  1776,  so 
far  as  it  was  affected  by  religion,  was  a  Presbyterian 
measure.  It  was  the  natural  outgrowth  of  the  prin- 
ciples which  tlie  Prcsbyterianisni  of  the  Old  World 
planted  in  her  sons,  the  English  Puritans,  the  Scotch 
C'ovenanters,  the  French  Huguenots,  the  Dutch  Cal- 
vinists,  and  the  Presbyterians  of  Ulster."  What  the 
historian  states  as  true  of  the  war  for  independence  is 
true  of  the  organized  government  of  the  Republic. 
Tiie  elements  of  popular  government  were,  without 
question,  found  in  many  of  the  Colonies,  especially 
in  New  England,  but  the  federal  |)rinciple,  whose 
acknowledgment  resulted  in  the  American  nation, 
through  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution  of  1788,  was 
found  previous  to  that  year  in  full  operation  upon 
this  Continent,  only  in  the  American  Presbyterian 
Church,  and  had  in  it  its  most  practical  and  success- 
ful advocate.  Chief  among  the  blessings  which  Pres- 
byterians aided  in  bestowing  upon  this  country  was 
and  is  the  Federal  Union. 

Brethren  of  the  historic  judicatory  which  is  the 
successor  of  the  Presbyterian  General  Synod,  Pres- 
byterian fellow-citizens  of  the  United  States,  such 
is  the  relation  of  the  Westminster  Standards  to  our 
national  life,  such  is  the  answer  which  as  Presbyte- 
rians we  give  to  the  question,  what  liave  the  princi- 
ples of  tliese  Standards  done  for  the  Republic?  To- 
day, as  we  look  over  our  broad  national  domain,  as 
we  see  the  70,000,000  of  our  inhabitants  in  the  enjoy- 


342  WESTMINSTER  ASSEMBLY. 

ment  of  education,  of  religious  freedom,  of  civil  lib- 
erty, of  the  blessings  which  the  Federal  Union  has 
secured  to  the  nation,  we  can  say,  this  hath  Westmin- 
ster, hath  Calvinism  wrought!  This,  too,  is  our 
answer  to  the  assertion  made  by  some  ill-informed 
persons,  in  whose  minds  prejudice  has  usurped  the 
throne  of  sound  reason,  the  assertion  that  Calvinism  is 
dead  !  Dead !  Calvinism  dead  !  The  fundamental  prin- 
ciples of  Westminster  are  maintained  to-day  in  this 
land  not  only  by  the  Presbyterian  and  the  Reformed 
Churches,  but  also  by  Baptists,  Congregationalists, 
and  many  Episcopalians.  The  majority  of  American 
Protestants  are  Calvinists.  Calvinism  dead  !  It  will 
cease  to  be  both  life  and  power  only,  when  popular  edu- 
cation shall  give  place  to  popular  ignorance,  when  civil 
and  religious  liberty  shall  vanish,  when  the  Republic 
shall  be  shattered  into  separate  and  warring  nationali- 
ties, and  when  the  very  life  shall  have  perished  from 
government  of  the  people,  by  the  people,  and  for  the 
people.  But  never  shall  such  changes  be.  0!  America, 
America !  The  sovereign  hand  of  the  Almighty 
rocked  thy  cradle,  the  eternal  purpose  sustained  and 
nurtured  thy  founders,  and  we  believe  that  the  un- 
changeable divine  decree  hath  ordained  thee  to  be  an 
indestructible  union  of  indestructible  States,  the 
leader  of  the  hopes  of  mankind,  the  majorit}^  of  thy 
citizens  servants  of  God  and  lovers  of  humanity,  until 
the  hour  when  God  shall  in  truth  dwell  with  men, 
and  all  mankind  shall  be  his  people. 


/ 


Date  Due 


Nit)  4i 


nm 


''ACULI  L, 

MY  17 '49 
4PJLQ 


4^1 


H^r,.iji>j^g.^ 


